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Project Name: Healthy Start Initiative-Eliminating Racial/Ethnic Disparities (H49)
Applicant Title: INTER-TRIBAL COUNCIL OF MICHIGAN, INC
Abstract Text: Michigan Tribal Birth Equity Project Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. 2956 Ashmun Street, Suite A Sault Sainte Marie, MI 49783 Project Director: Michelle Leask, 1-xxx-xxx-xxxx xxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx www.itcmi.org The death of an infant or a mother serves as a measure of how well a society ensures the health of its people, particularly its women and children. Disparities in infant and maternal mortality are indicators of inequities that go much deeper than health status, pointing to social, institutional, and structural inequities. Historically the health status of American Indian/Alaska Native communities throughout the United States and in Michigan have been impacted by systematic inequities such as, displacement, harmful race driven government health policies, forced child removal, forced attendance at boarding schools, racism, and discrimination at societal, community, institutional, interpersonal, and individual levels. These and other factors contribute to disproportionate rates of morbidity and mortality across the age spectrum. It is clearly evident in the disparities seen around infant mortality and excess infant deaths in the AI/AN population in Michigan. Michigan Vital Statistics data between 2015 and 2017 (MDHHS) shows disparities in infant mortality rates between White infants (4.9 per 1,000) and Black (14.3 per 1,000) and American Indian infants (14.2 per 1,000). These disparities exist at the national level, as well. A National Vital Statistics Report using 2017 data (Ely & Driscoll, 2019) reports the infant mortality rate (per 1,000 live births) for White infants is 4.67, while the rate for American Indian/Alaska Native infants is 9.21, and for Black infants is 10.97. The proposed project is designed to build upon recent work to identify systems level actions that can support data driven policy and systems level strategies to address the social and structural determinants of health that impact infant mortality within American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in Michigan. The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (ITCM) through the Asabike Coalition, which is the HRSA funded Community Action Network (CAN), and the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI) have been working collaboratively with Healthy Start home visitors and families, along with State, County, and Hospital/Provider representatives, through the Achieving Birth Equity Through Systems project to investigate root causes of birth inequities for Native American families. The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (ITCM) will further develop our current collaborative birth equity roadmap/action plan that focus on improving birth experiences to include training, planning, and completion of a strategic/action plan that targets the disproportionate rates of Infant Mortality for AI/AN families in Michigan. Project Goal: Expand current strategic planning efforts to enhance participation, assessment, and strategic planning to address the impact of systemic racism and inequity in order to address Infant Mortality Disparities. 1. By September 30, 2021 engage in recruitment of additional Asabike Coalition partners. 2. By October 30, 2021 complete literature and data review 3. By March 30, 2022 complete Asabike Coalition Roadmap/Action plan to reduce infant mortality through systems change.