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Growing a Best Babies Zone: Lessons Learned from the Pilot Phase of a Multi-Sector, Place-Based Initiative to Reduce
Cheri Pies1, Monica Barr2, Carly Strouse3
1School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, 279 University Hall, Berkeley, CA, 94720-7360, USA. cpies@berkeley.edu.
Insights
A place-based approach called Best Babies Zone (BBZ) addresses social determinants of infant mortality. This initiative aims to reduce disparities by involving communities and transforming local systems.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Maternal and Child Health
- Health Equity
Background:
- Infant mortality reduction in the U.S. has primarily used clinical methods, failing to address racial/socioeconomic disparities.
- Social, economic, and environmental factors significantly contribute to infant mortality rates.
- A place-based approach is necessary to complement existing clinical practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement a place-based strategy, the Best Babies Zone (BBZ) initiative, to reduce infant mortality.
- To address the root causes of toxic stress and poor birth outcomes by transforming community systems.
- To align resources, build community leadership, and enhance educational and economic opportunities.
Main Methods:
- The Best Babies Zone (BBZ) initiative applies life course theory in three U.S. neighborhoods.
- BBZ focuses on resident-driven strategies, community leadership, and transforming local systems.
- Methods include design thinking and health impact assessment to address community priorities.
Main Results:
- Over 4 years, BBZ sites developed strategies to decrease toxic stress and improve birth outcomes.
- The initiative emphasized existing maternal and child health (MCH) strategies, including leadership development.
- Challenges were identified in shifting from traditional MCH interventions and promoting health equity.
Conclusions:
- The BBZ initiative aims to empower local voices and engage multiple sectors to tackle infant mortality's social determinants.
- Lessons learned from BBZ's successes and challenges can inform other maternal and child health (MCH) initiatives.
- Bringing life course theory into practice requires a comprehensive, community-centered approach.
Purpose:
Infant mortality reduction in the U.S. has been addressed predominantly through clinical approaches. While these efforts have reduced the infant mortality rate overall, they have not reduced disparities between different racial/socioeconomic groups. To address the interrelated social, economic and environmental factors contributing to infant mortality, a place-based approach is needed to complement existing initiatives and clinical practices.
Description:
Best Babies Zone (BBZ) is an early attempt to put life course theory into practice, taking a place-based approach to reducing infant mortality by aligning resources, building community leadership, and transforming educational opportunities, economic development, and community systems in concentrated neighborhoods. BBZ is currently in three neighborhoods: Price Hill (Cincinnati, OH), Hollygrove (New Orleans, LA), and Castlemont (Oakland, CA). Assessment In its first 4 years, each BBZ crafted resident-driven strategies for decreasing the root causes of toxic stress and poor birth outcomes. To address resident priorities, BBZ sites experimented with tools from other fields (like design thinking and health impact assessment), and emphasized existing MCH strategies like leadership development. Early challenges, including shifting from traditional MCH interventions and addressing health equity, point to areas of growth in implementing this approach in the maternal and child health field.
Conclusion:
BBZ aims to elevate local voice and mobilize multiple sectors in order to address the social determinants of infant mortality, and other initiatives working to improve MCH outcomes can learn from the successes and challenges of the first 4 years of BBZ in order to bring life course theory into practice.
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