Power to Decide's One Key Question Wins 2020 Innovation Station Best Practice Award

WASHINGTON, Aug. 4, 2020 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Power to Decide's One Key Question was recognized by the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) with the 2020 Innovation Station Best Practice Award. The One Key Question program is a transformative tool that starts the conversation about if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. One Key Question is used by thousands of health care, social service providers and agencies in approximately 30 states.

"We are delighted to receive the 2020 Innovation Station Best Practice Award for a key program focused on transforming people's health care experience and improving the quality of reproductive care," said Gillian Sealy, CEO, Power to Decide. "By optimizing access to reproductive health care through standardized screenings, One Key Question prompts critical conversations between patient and provider with regard to pregnancy desires."

The notion behind One Key Question is to provide a framework for health providers, social service providers and champions to routinely ask, "would you like to become pregnant in the next year?" One Key Question meets people where they are by offering four responses yes, no, ok either way and unsure and includes follow-up counseling that is patient-centered and tailored appropriately based on a person's pregnancy desires.

"Further, by providing care based on what the patient wants related to pregnancy desires and not on what the provider thinks they need, One Key Question helps to address some of the root causes for mistimed pregnancies, poor birth outcomes and disparities in maternal and infant health," continued Sealy.

In 2011, the proportion of pregnancies that were unintended was 45%, the lowest rate since 1981. While the unintended pregnancy rate decreased across the board, disparities among women of color and women with low-incomes persist. Further, pregnancy-related mortality has increased from 7.2 deaths per 100,000 live births in 1987 to 18 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2014. Some studies indicate that these rising rates are related to more women entering pregnancy with chronic conditions like hypertension, diabetes and chronic heart conditions.

System and structural barriers including oppression, racism and lack of access to health care are contributing to racial disparities in pregnancy-related mortality, with black women three to four times more likely to die than white women.

The Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs is a national resource, partner and advocate for state public health leaders and others working to improve the health of women, children, youth and families, including those with special health care needs. The Innovation Station Practice Awards recognizes exceptional programs that have demonstrated a positive difference in the maternal or child health field. The Best Practice Award is awarded to the practice that received the highest score out of the 26 practice submissions to the Innovation Station database in 2019.

Power to Decide is a private, non-partisan, non-profit organization that works to ensure all people—no matter who they are, where they live or what their economic status might be—have the power to decide if, when and under what circumstances to get pregnant and have a child. Please visit us at http://www.PowerToDecide.org or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Power to Decide