Groundbreaking New Report from Urban Strategies Calls Out Gaping Void in Latino Maternal and Child Health Data and Warns of Implications For U.S. Public Health Outcomes

WASHINGTON, Sept. 28, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- A new report released this week, the first-of-its-kind scholarly review of the U.S Latina maternal and child health (MCH) landscape, shows the declining state of maternal health and warns that the current trend of limited investment in maternal and child health data and community programming in the Latino community could have disastrous effects on the U.S. public health trajectory overall.

The 2018 Latina Maternal and Child Health Review, released by Urban Strategies, an Arlington, VA-based organization focused on technical assistance and capacity building for Latino-serving organizations throughout the United States and Central America, found a glaring lack of Latino specific interventions and insufficient investment in MCH services for Latinas in general, creating a noticeable and dangerous void in national MCH policy. Given that the Latino population is one of the fastest growing demographics in the U.S., the report authors argue that this data and policy gap will have wide ramifications.

By 2035, Latinas are projected to represent nearly 1 in 4 of all women, and by 2060, Latinas will form nearly a third of the U.S. female population. Between 2010 and 2060, the number of Latinas of childbearing age (15-44) is expected to increase to 74 percent, according to the March of Dimes Perinatal Data Center.

"This serves as an important reminder of the growing need to address Latina maternal health across our nation. This review focuses on one racial ethnic group, however, these topics impact the health of all mothers, children and families and deserves our full attention to best address the underlying structural factors that impact health," said Melissa Valerio, PhD, associate professor at UT School of Public Health San Antonio and guest editor of the review.

Featuring 11 guest-authored articles from academics, researchers and other experts, the report was released today at a Congressional briefing hosted by Urban Strategies and 1,000 Days in conjunction with the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Maternity Care.

The review concludes with five recommended national action steps that range from creating more culturally competent programming and social media outreach for Spanish speaking families to establishing a National Center for Latino Maternal and Child Health to lead data collection and dissemination. The report authors argue that failing to have disaggregated data about Latino subgroups contributes to an "invisible narrative" and prevents the development of meaningful policy and programming.

"The national narrative on Latina maternal and child health is almost nonexistent, and the lack of data is a key factor in that absence. This review is meant to fill that void," says Urban Strategies' National Director of Health Initiatives Diana N. Derige, DrPH. "The report is not an end point but is intended to stimulate dialogue, further research, and community driven policy and programming," adds Dr. Derige, who coordinated the report.

The 2018 Latina Maternal and Child Health review is available for download at: http://www.urbanstrategies.us/2018lmchreview. Paper copies can be requested by emailing Nara Hojvat-Gallin at nara(at)urbanstrategies(dot)us.

About Urban Strategies:
Urban Strategies was founded to connect, resource and tool faith and community-based organizations to serve children and families in need. Urban Strategies focuses on technical assistance and capacity building to help support communities of color, by bolstering the programmatic and administrative abilities of the organizations that serve them. During the last 15 years, Urban Strategies has facilitated more than $150 million of programming, supporting the transformational work at a community level through a national network of over 2000 community-based partner organizations. Learn more at http://www.urbanstrategies.us.

SOURCE Urban Strategies