Other MCH Data Capacity Efforts

In order to implement the most effective strategies to improve maternal and child health and reduce infant mortality, DC Health emphasizes understanding local data. The Center for Policy, Planning and Evaluation (CPPE), within DC Health, has a mission to assess health issues, risks and outcomes through data collection, surveillance, analysis, research and evaluation; perform state health planning functions; and to assist programs in the design of strategies, interventions and policies to prevent or reduce disease, injury and disability in the District of Columbia. The Vital Records Division, within CPPE, is responsible for collecting, preserving and administering the District's system of birth and death records.

The Data Management and Analysis Division, also within CPPE, works with Vital Records to collect, maintain and analyze statistical data to inform DC Health’s program delivery. In late FY17, Title V program provided funding to CPPE to hire a health statistician dedicated to the analysis and use of maternal and child health data. That position was vacated in February 2021 and has since been filled by a Statistician. A large portion of the previous MCH Statistician’s efforts were dedicated to the analysis of linked birth/infant death data to help DC Health understand basic relationships between maternal health behaviors and characteristics and birth outcomes. In FY18, the efforts dedicated to the analysis and use of maternal and child health data resulted in the publication of DC Health’s Perinatal Health and Infant Mortality Report which has served as an important source of information for identifying needs as part of the 5-year MCH Needs Assessment for FY21-FY25 and the development of a perinatal health dashboard in FY20. The Statistician that joined the tea in FY 21 has focused efforts on the updated version of the Perinatal Health and Infant Mortality Report to be published in FY22 and has been supported by the Title V State Director to participate in CityMatch’s Training Course in MCH Epidemiology to enhance her skillset in maternal and child health. In FY 21, a new MCH Epidemiologist was hired to support the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System and provide technical assistance to Data Analysts in the Community Health Administration. The District of Columbia’s Risk Assessment Monitory System (PRAMS) is an ongoing state specific population-based survey of residents who delivered a live-born infant. PRAMS collects data on maternal behaviors and experiences from preconception to the postpartum period. The goal of the PRAMS project is to identify groups of women and infants at high risk for health problems, to monitor changes in health status, and to measure progress towards improving maternal and child health. PRAMS data allow DC Health to analyze population-level trends alongside stakeholders to coordinate efforts and improve health outcomes. Better understanding of maternal attitudes and experiences before, during and shortly after pregnancy allows DC Health to focus efforts on evidence-based approaches to support programs and policies. The continued monitoring and evaluation of maternal and child health indicators also play an important role in ensuring an equitable District. Utilizing the tableau platform, the PRAMS dashboard enables the team to be able to access data that supports annual MCH Block Grant performance measure reporting/monitoring and data-driven programming.

CPPE is also home to the Monitoring and Evaluation Team (M&E Team). The M&E Team works with program staff throughout DC Health to update their Results Framework which forms the basis of all performance measures developed and tracked by each administration. The M&E Team assists programs in the design of a process to monitor and evaluate the health status of District residents, develop and review various outcome measures, targets, and other quantitative indicators for use in monitoring the goals and objectives developed through the planning process. It also helps programs use appropriate baseline statistics to determine areas for improvement and suggest ideas that may influence program performance. In FY20, the DC Perinatal Health Dashboard was developed utilizing DC Health's Vital Records Division data to monitor DC resident births as well DC occurrent births from 2018 to 2021(year-to-date). The dashboard aids in tracking trends over time and space as well as the various risk factors affecting both mother and child, including: place of birth and birth residency, time of entry into prenatal care, prematurity, as well as newborn screening data including newborn critical congenital heart disease screening and hearing screening. In FY22, Title V efforts will also include completion of a comprehensive MCH dashboard, utilizing the Tableau platform, to better visualize and offer at-a-glance insights into MCH priorities based on real-time key performance metrics. The dashboard workgroup is led by Title V staff with input from team members across the Community Health Administration.

The Government of the District of Columbia published its official Coronavirus Data Dashboard. This publicly accessible dashboard provides data and in-depth analysis of valuable information surrounding the surveillance COVID-19. The data outlines the administration, coverage, demographics, and supply of vaccines in the District and to the people who live and work in the District. Vaccination data is scheduled to be released on a weekly basis.  On this site, they also have information on how to register for vaccination, testing resources, funeral assistance, help with rent, help with utilities, food resources, resources for businesses and individuals, and operating status of DC Government to further assist the residents of the District.