For decades, infant and maternal mortality rates have presented concern within healthcare. Even more alarmingly, infant and maternal mortality rates among African American women are significantly higher than those of non-Hispanic White origin. There are numerous factors that contribute to this disparity including disease and environmental factors. Additionally, lack of intervention prior to conception also contributes to poor birth outcomes and mortality rates. Preconception care identifies and diminishes risk factors that contribute to complications of childbirth and promotes a healthy lifestyle to increase the likelihood of a healthy pregnancy. A useful technological tool that expands access to preconception care is The Gabby Preconception Care System. The Gabby System (TGS) is an online tool that screens African American women for preconception risks through a risk assessment and provides health education and information on behavior changes that could aid in improving outcomes for mother and baby. Eligibility criteria for patients to use the Gabby System includes identifying as Black or African American, female, 18-39 years old, English-speaking, and they are not pregnant at the time of enrollment. After ten years of development, including a pilot and two Randomized Control Trials, The Gabby System was implemented at Healthy Start programs and Community Health Centers across the country. The advantages and disadvantages of the implementation of The Gabby System in community-based sites were evaluated using qualitative data collected from pre-implementation interviews with implementation site staff. The pre-implementation barriers of The Gabby System include the requirement of internet access and maintaining enthusiasm and engagement with the system among participants and staff. The advantages of The Gabby System include feasibility of implementation, ability to provide educational content, and the expansion of educational resources at the sites. Overall, the general sentiment demonstrated by organizational staff is The Gabby System possesses numerous benefits and its implementation at organizational sites has the potential to be advantageous in encouraging comprehensive preconception care as one strategy to address disproportionate infant and maternal mortality in African American communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bu.edu/oai:open.bu.edu:2144/45561 |
| Date | 01 February 2023 |
| Creators | Gray, GiAnna D. |
| Contributors | Jack, Brian W. |
| Source Sets | Boston University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis/Dissertation |
Page generated in 0.0016 seconds