Starting in 2016, the Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) jointly sponsored and funded the Infant Mortality Research Partnership (IMRP), in recognition of the State’s need for rigorous research to identify interventions and resources to improve health outcomes for underserved populations and address this complicated health issue. Experts from The Ohio State University’s Colleges of Medicine and Public Health, with the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Resource Center (GRC), created:
- 12 predictive models for infant mortality and preterm birth
- An infant mortality and pre-term birth Risk Calculator for use in shared decision making by practitioners and patients at the point of care
- A geospatial analytics tool to be used by state agencies and local communities to target resources and services toward this vital health issue
- A patient mobile application (OHiFamily) and a geographically referenced resource library named the Curated Ohio Resource Database (CORD) for Franklin County to provide Ohio parents with information on resources in their community
The IMRP project spans four Phases:
- Phase I of the IMRP (2016-2017), which leveraged a diverse array of data and methods, sought to answer three overarching questions:
- Where, within Ohio, should interventions be targeted to reduce infant mortality?
- To whom should those interventions be targeted (i.e., which women are at highest risk)?
- How should those interventions be implemented, and what will be the likely future impact of these interventions?
- Phase II (2018-2019) focused on development of predictive models and geospatial analytics, especially focusing on factors that increase risk, such as those related to social and behavioral health or structural and institutional factors. GRC continued to provide project management, data, analytical, infrastructure, and evaluation support to the Partnership’s efforts.
- In Phase III (2020-2022), the project team worked closely with Information Technology experts and other stakeholders to operationalize the findings of the previous phases. This involved the expansion of the IMRP Web-Mapping Tool and creation of the IM and PTB Risk Calculator and patient-facing mobile application.
- IV (2022-2023) extends the work completed in the previous IMRP phases by taking the models and tools that have been developed and, through continued rigorous research and evaluation, expanding their reach to more clinicians, community-based organizations, and mothers and fathers across the state. The IMRP team will refine the patient mobile app and clinical Risk Calculator, incorporating the SMM models, and through an active community engagement process, expand the CORD. We will create a portal for interested individuals at supporting state agencies, CBOs, healthcare centers, and health departments that will include the IMRP web mapping tool, Ohio Opportunity Index (OOI) and Ohio Children’s Opportunity Index (OCOI) and their corresponding dashboards, CORD, and OHiFamily. We will work with health systems, state agencies, and technology vendor partners to translate these tools to appropriate, impactful settings and facilitate their scalability and sustainability.