Jan 4 -- HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Division of Healthy Start and Perinatal Services seeks the perspectives of Healthy Start grantees, community members, people with lived experience, health care providers, community health workers, birthing people, parents, and other members of the public to inform future Healthy Start program development. Submit comments no later than February 3, 2023.
HRSA's Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health (Healthy Start) program is authorized by 42 U.S.C. 254c-8 (section 330H of the Public Health Service Act). Healthy Start is a community-based program dedicated to reducing disparities in maternal and infant health. HRSA provides Healthy Start grants to communities with infant mortality rates at least 1.5 times the U.S. national average and with high rates of adverse perinatal outcomes (e.g., low birthweight, preterm birth, maternal morbidity, and mortality). Healthy Start programs serve individuals of reproductive age, pregnant and post-partum people, fathers/partners, and infants from birth through 18 months.
HRSA currently funds 101 Healthy Start grantees in 35 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, to improve health outcomes before, during, and after pregnancy and reduce racial/ethnic differences in rates of infant death and adverse perinatal outcomes by: (1) improving access to quality health care and services for parents, birthing people, infants, children, and families through outreach, care coordination, health education, and linkage to health insurance; (2) strengthening the health workforce, specifically those individuals responsible for providing direct services; and (3) building healthy communities and ensuring ongoing, coordinated comprehensive services are provided in the most efficient manner through effective service delivery.
In addition, HRSA funds the Supporting Healthy Start Performance Project to provide grantees with technical assistance and training in order to achieve the goals of the Healthy Start program. Through Healthy Start investments, HRSA has also expanded access to doula care and invested in communities to improve infant health equity by developing data-driven systems level strategies addressing social and structural determinants of health.
Unacceptably high rates of infant and maternal mortality persist in communities across the country, with notable inequities by race and ethnicity. HRSA seeks to accelerate the elimination of inequities in birth outcomes in communities served by Healthy Start.
HRSA is seeking input from the public on the following topics related to the design, implementation, and evaluation of the Healthy Start program. A response to each question is not required. All partners and interested parties are welcome and encouraged to respond (e.g., Healthy Start grantees, community members, people with lived experience, health care professionals, etc.)
Program Design and Implementation
(1) Provide input on the types and mix of services (direct, enabling or public health services and systems) and program activities (including strategies that address social and structural determinants of health) that could accelerate Healthy Start's impact on decreasing racial/ethnic disparities in maternal and infant mortality and morbidity. In your response, include examples of innovative services or strategies that a Healthy Start grantee could elect to implement and how the effectiveness of these interventions could be measured.
(2) Propose criteria and/or methods for defining applicant project area and target population in order to ensure that Healthy Start programs are serving populations and communities with the highest rates of infant and maternal mortality and morbidity, including communities with the highest racial/ethnic disparities. If applicable to your response, propose criteria for reviewing Healthy Start grant applications with overlapping geographic areas.
(3) Provide recommendations on implementing Healthy Start programs with rural populations and underserved populations experiencing disproportionate adverse maternal and infant health outcomes (e.g., American Indian/Alaskan Native). In your response, describe whether potential Healthy Start applicants would benefit from the ability to apply for tiered funding (i.e., flexibility to serve fewer participants for programs with small numbers of residents within their catchment area).
(4) Provide recommendations on the most effective period to enroll Healthy Start participants (i.e., pre-conception, prenatal, postpartum) and how long services should be offered to have the greatest impact on improving maternal and infant health outcomes.
(5) Provide input on the engagement of fathers in Healthy Start programs and recommendations for types of activities and programming. When possible, provide examples of successful community-based fatherhood initiatives (non-Healthy Start examples are welcome).
(6) Provide recommendations for increasing retention of community health workers in Healthy Start programs.
(7) Provide recommendations on culturally responsive approaches for providing Black, American Indian, Alaskan Native, and border populations with maternal and child health education, support navigating resources, and linkages to clinical services including doula, prenatal, well-woman, and pediatric care.
(8) Provide recommendations for strengthening engagement of birthing people, fathers, families, and people with lived experience in Healthy Start program design, implementation, and evaluation.
Data and Evaluation of Healthy Start Programs
(9) Provide recommendations on the relevance of the current Healthy Start measures pertaining to the key challenges and inequities experienced in your community and priority population: (a) Which current measures are useful for evaluating program impact and why? (b) Which current measures are not useful for evaluating program impact and why? (c) Are there additional/new measures that would support Healthy Start program evaluation (if applicable provide examples and a rationale)? (For a list of current Healthy Start measures, see page 20 of the Healthy Start Initiative: Eliminating Disparities in Perinatal Health Notice of Funding Opportunity at
https://grants.hrsa.gov/2010/Web2External/Interface/Common/EHBDisplayAttachment.aspx?dm_rtc=16&dm_attid=d3c378a4-b07d-48e5-ab36-38f05a7eeb48).
(10) HRSA currently provides an optional Healthy Start database to grantees (i.e., CAREWare)
https://healthystartepic.org/healthy-start-implementation/careware-for-healthy-start/) free of charge. Provide input on the essential and preferred components of an ideal Healthy Start data system. Would there be an advantage to having one system that all grantees are required to use? Would there be any disadvantages?
Healthy Start:
https://mchb.hrsa.gov/programs-impact/healthy-start
FRN:
https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-28559