Trigg Street Library Report

D. The infant mortality rate measures the number of deaths each year to infants under 1 year of age per 1,000 live births.

There is a very low infant mortality rate, 2.8 in a thousand, and a relatively low birth rate as well, at 7.41 births in a thousand. However, the death rate, 9.83 deaths in a thousand, is

Among the different ethnic and socioeconomic groups, each is associated with health disadvantages. While some have more advantages than others, the most disadvantaged groups are among the Blacks and Native Americans. These two groups have the highest rates of several health disparities. The two groups, Blacks, and Native Americans have the highest rates in infant mortality and cardiovascular disease. Research has shown several key risk factors that are associated with these high rates. Some include poor environment, lack of access to care, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and high blood pressure. These health disparities and disadvantages are what causes Blacks and Native Americans to have higher mortality rates.

As of 2014, North Carolina ranks as the 8th worst state for infant mortality in the United States with a slight improvement from holding the number one position in 1988. (Health Start Foundation, 2014) As infant mortality rate is broken down by demographics and ethnicity a clearer picture opens the doors of perception and explores preventative measures for this at risk population. African Americans represent 22% of North

“Compared with European Americans, African American infants experience disproportionately high rates of low birth weight (LBW) and preterm delivery and are more than twice as likely to die during their 1st year of life”(Giscombé, C. L., & Lobel, M., 2005). The infant mortality rate for African Americans is 13.7 deaths per 1000 live births, more than twice the rate (5.7) for White Americans in the U.S. (Kung, Hoyert, Xu, & Murphy, 2008). A lot of the racial disparity in infant mortality can be explained by low birthweight and preterm delivery, which are also disproportionately and often experienced by African Americans (Martin et al., 2007).

The United States is a melting pot of cultural diversity. For a country that was founded by individuals fleeing persecution, it has taken us many years to grant African-Americans equal rights, and even longer for those rights to be recognized. Despite all the effort to eliminate inequality in this country, health disparity among this minority group remains a significant issue. Research in this area has pointed to several key reasons for this gap that center on differences in culture, socioeconomics, and lack of health literacy.

Although the United States is a leader in healthcare innovation and spends more money on health care than any other industrialized nation, not all people in the United State benefit equally from this progress as a health care disparity exists between racial and ethnic minorities and white Americans. Health care disparity is defined as “a particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social or economic disadvantage…adversely affecting groups of people who have systematically experienced greater social and/or economic obstacles to health and/or clean environment based on their racial or ethnic group; religion; socioeconomic status; gender; age; mental health; cognitive, sensory or physical disability; sexual orientation or gender identity; geographic location; or other characteristics historically linked to discrimination or exclusion” (National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities [NPAEHD], 2011, p. 3). Overwhelming evidence shows that racial and ethnic minorities receive inferior quality health care compared to white Americans, and multiple factors contribute to these disparities, including geography, lack of access to adequate health coverage, communication difficulties between patients and providers, cultural barriers, and lack of access to providers (American College of Physicians,

Puerto Rico desire is to eliminate disparities in health to attain a reduced death rate. Mortality rates declined in the 1900s; however, inequalities in infant mortality are still prevalent. Infant death rate is 1 per 1000 live births ( ). Although rates declined by 24% in the late 1900s, the disparity in rates between infants born in Puerto Rico and those born in America stayed the

In our community, disparities in mortality rates have been shown to be influenced by the unequal distribution of resources such as adequate income, quality nutrition, jobs, transportation, insurance enrollment, stable housing and education level. In Columbus, black families are more likely to be affected by poverty, joblessness and education deficits and in turn are more likely to experience an infant death. Considering this information, city government should enact laws, write policy, and develop programs that would decrease the infant mortality disparities in the black community and improve social and economic conditions (Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force,

According to Healthy People 2020, "Improving the well-being of mothers, infants, and children, is an important public health goal for the United States. Their well-being determines the health of the next generation and can help predict future public health challenges for families, communities, and the health care system" (Healthy People 2020, 2015). Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant before his or her first birthday, while fetal mortality is defined as the intrauterine death of a fetus at any gestational age (MMRW, 2013 and MacDorman, Kirmeyer & Wilson, 2012). In the United States an estimated 13,000 fetal deaths occurred ≥ 28 weeks gestation making up 28% of all perinatal deaths in 2006, the latest year with available national data (Lee,

Reduced infant disparities; patients have lower rates of low birth rate (U.S. low income low birth rate percentage 8.2% vs Health Centers 7.5%).

though on average 25 percent died within the first year of life and childhood diseases prevented

There were many new regulations put in place by the Department of Health and Human Services as well as the Centers for Disease Control and other government agencies. These included changes in how medical students were educated to care for minority patients and in how doctors were expected to treat all patients. Even with all the attention and concern paid to this issue, health disparities continue to exist and in some cases to increase. Research shows that disparities continue to exist today even when people have a good income and health insurance ( http://www.ncsl.org/research/health/health-disparities-overview.aspx). Some of the differences between minorities are in areas of infant deaths, life expectancy and number of chronic diseases. The research shows that black babies are one to three

Economic growth has much improved the infant mortality rate though better healthcare facilities and living conditions. Japan has fallen to one of the world’s lowest infant mortality levels at 3.6 per 1,000 live births in 2006 (Saigusa, 2006). Infant mortality is largely affected by the health of the mother, which makes pre-natal health imperative in keeping infant mortality rates low. Since Japan offers health care to all, access to prenatal care is easier to get therefore making mothers healthier and help in finding complications earlier in the pregnancy.

In his article, "Why are so many U.S. women dying during childbirth?", Munz (2012) pointed out that U.S. is experiencing a rise in maternal mortality. It has doubled for the last 25 years and the experts are uncertain about the increase. Experts are not entirely clear for the rise in the maternal deaths in the U.S., but there are some aspects that may be link to this.