Intervening to Enhance Healthy Births

This component of the Public Health Impact Initiative for Healthy Births includes two sub-components:

 

Keeping Families Together

Keeping Families Together is a pilot intervention to assist incarcerated substance-abusing mothers of minor children in preventing re-occurring use, reunifying them with their children upon release, and improving the health outcomes of mothers and their infants.  Led by Susan J. Rose, PhD and Thomas LeBel, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Center for Applied and Behavioral Health Research, School of Social Welfare, the project has:

• 167 women were screened for potential substance abuse in county jail facilities, including 29 pregnant women, with 112 screening positive for substance abuse issues.
• 79 follow up interviews have been conducted post-release with 41 women.
• Two community discussion groups were held with community professionals in the areas of child welfare, substance abuse treatment, corrections, and mental health.
• The resource guide was redesigned and distributed to families.

Milwaukee Young Parenthood Study

The Milwaukee Young Parenthood Study is a study testing the Young Parenthood Program, a flexible, couples-focused preventive-intervention program designed to help pregnant adolescents and their partners to develop the interpersonal skills needed to establish and maintain positive parenting/co-parenting practices and prevent child abuse and dysfunctional parenting.  Led by Paul Florsheim, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Zilber School of Public Health and the Center for Applied and Behavioral Health Research, this funding has allowed the project to:

• Adapt the Young Parenthood Program to youth in Milwaukee - including conducting focus groups with Milwaukee teens and community experts - these findings have been incorporated into the program as well as into recruitment strategies.
• Enhance recruitment and retention activities, including creation of a Milwaukee Young Parenthood Study Facebook page.
• Over 50 couples have been recruited into the study so far.
• Dissemination activities include exploring publication of the program manuals, development of an on-line course, presentations at national conferences, and journal publications.
  

Cell Phone Pilot Intervention

This is a pilot project using cell phones to increase mother/parent awareness of factors related to prematurity (e.g., symptoms of preterm labor).  Led by Susan McRoy, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, this project has:

• Created a content database in collaboration with City of Milwaukee Health Department nurses.
  
• Successfully pilot-tested the technology with mothers.
  
• Presented preliminary findings in a poster presentation at the 2nd Annual ACM International Health Informatics Symposium, January 28-30, 2012.
• Two new students will be testing the feasibility of a cell-phone intervention applied to men screened for prostate cancer.