An APRN works in a community clinic providing postnatal care to a diverse population of families. The APRN knows that there is an ethnic disparity for infant mortality.
1.Where could the APRN find information on infant mortality disparities?
There are many different resources for an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN) to find information on infant mortality disparities; web-based resources that can be used are AHRQ, the CDC Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, and NIH’s NIMHD (Curley, 2019). These websites can provide an APRN with access to information and resources to help identify and define outcomes (Curley, 2019). Web-based resources are a great asset for APRNs to find information that is needed in a timely easy manner.2.What is the ethnic disparity in infant mortality?
Infant mortality is defined as the death of an infant before his or her first birthday (Jang and Lee, 2022). The infant mortality rate (IMR) of a population is measured by the number of infant deaths for every 1000 live births. In the United States, the non-Hispanic black population had an IMR of 10.8, native Hawaiian or other pacific islander populations at 9.4, American Indians at 8.2, and white and Asian populations at 4.6 and 3.6 in 2018 (Jang and Lee, 2022).3.What social determinants of health are associated with infant mortality?
The leading causes of infant mortality include birth defects, preterm birth, low birth weight, complications with pregnancy, SIDS, and injuries (Jang and Lee, 2022). The social determinants that are associated with infant mortality can be economic stability, education, access to healthcare, neighborhood environment, and social and community context (Jang and Lee, 2022).4.How might an APRN participate in local efforts to reduce infant mortality rates on a population level?
An APRN can participate in local efforts to reduce infant mortality rates by looking at the discrepancies that lie within social determinants that affect adverse infant outcomes (Jang and Lee, 2022). Once discrepancies and social determinates are identified the APRN can work towards implementing policies and practices to help reduce ethnic disparities in IMR. This will work towards a common goal of achieving health equity, regardless of ethnic background (Jang and Lee, 2022).