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The LAMB Project has provided and will continue to provide detailed information and high quality data to assist policy makers, community stakeholders and other essential strategic partners to:
Monitor the health status of thousands of mothers and their newly delivered babies;
Identify strategies to address perinatal issues faced by our communities;
Evaluate perinatal services in order to maximize the health and quality of health and human services for mothers, infants and their families; and
Assess the environments in which families live and thrive.
The following lists specific examples of how LAMB data has been used by the MCAH stakeholders and community partners to inform decision-making and community action:
Los Angeles Health Overview of a Pregnancy Event (LA HOPE)
The LAMB Project facilitated the development of the LA HOPE Project, which specifically monitors the health indicators of mothers in Los Angeles County who have experienced a recent fetal or infant loss. The LA HOPE survey replaced the traditional Fetal-Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) with a population-based surveillance tool. Whereas, the traditional FIMR approach is appropriate for case reviews, it is labor-intensive and impractical to implement on a large scale, such as is called for in Los Angeles County. The LAHOPE survey is primarily based on LAMB but asks additional questions of importance to families who have experienced fetal or infant loss. The data collected by LA HOPE has resulted in a host of activities. Please refer to the LA HOPE webpage.
March of Dimes, Greater Los Angeles Division
LAMB data was used to examine pre-term birth risk factors and outcomes among Hispanic communities.
Healthy Weight for Women of Reproductive Age Action Learning Collaborative (HWALC)
Weight and obesity related data from LAMB were included in the HWALC report of Los Angeles County. These data supported the work of the collaborative and helped in articulating the needs among various communities.
Los Angeles County Preconception Health Collaborative (LAC PHC)
Preconception/interconception-related data from LAMB indicated the need for provider training on the topic. As a result, LAC developed the LACPHC Speakers’ Bureau; presented in numerous provider venues; hosted discussions with the CDC and CityMatCH; and drafted a preconception brief for providers.
Healthy Women, Healthy Children, Preconception Health in LA County
Los Angeles Perinatal Mental Health Task Force (LAC PMHTC)
Mental health-related data from LAMB suggested the need for a countywide focus on the topic, resulting in the formation of the LACPMHTC. LAMB data supported the work of the collaborative and helped in specifying the needs among various communities. Consequently, MCAH identified current screening and treatment resources as well as potential funders to pay for provider-based perinatal mental health training. MCAH provided screening, treatment, and coordinated care, and prepared a policy paper on perinatal mental health. Currently, MCAH is planning a Perinatal Depression Conference to be held in LAC in 2009.
Maternal Depression in Los Angeles County: Current Screening Practices and Recommendations
SPA 6 Healthy Baby Learning Collaborative (HBLC)
Data from the LAMB Survey as well as from Los Angeles Health Overview of a Pregnancy Event (LA HOPE) and the Fetal Infant Mortality Review Project (1999-2001) were used to look at specific risk factors most prevalent for a community disproportionately affected by a historically higher infant mortality rate. Members from the Healthy Births Learning Collaborative SPA 6 Project "Are You Ready" developed a 12-page preconception brochure based specifically on findings for African American women in SPA 6.
SPA 8 Healthy Baby Learning Collaborative (HBLC)
The 2005 LAMB data provided SPA 8 HBLC information in prioritizing perinatal issues and services. As a result, due to high rates of reported depression during and after pregnancy, perinatal mental health was selected as an area of focus by the Collaborative.
In the future, MCAH will use LAMB data to:
Inform quality improvement processes and initiatives within the individual Service Planning Areas;
Assist in prioritizing MCAH issues during the MCAH five-year planning process; and
Provide information for Children’s Scorecards, developed by the Children’s Council of Los Angeles County to prioritize County efforts for improving the well-being of children.