Characterizing state strategies to assure primary care for mothers and children

To assure primary care for all mothers and children, state health officials concerned with maternal and child health must be able to identify and characterize strategies to meet that goal. Since each state's Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services Block Grant application reflects plans for reaching primary care goals and objectives, we reviewed the 1992 MCH Services Block Grant applications from the eight states in the Southeast (Department of Health and Human Services Region 4) to identify state strategies to improve primary care. We identified two major sets of strategies. The first set was directed toward increasing the number of providers and facilities and accounted for 14% of state strategies. The second set was directed toward improving the quality of care and constituted 86% of state strategies. Of these strategies to improve the quality of care, efforts to enhance the content of care, expand outreach, improve coordination, and improve intake and referral accounted for 46%, 32%, 15%, and 7%, respectively. The review of strategies delineated in state MCH Services Block Grant applications may provide an efficient mechanism to monitor the development of primary care at the state level.