Ohio Better Birth Outcomes Prenatal Care Capacity Study

The MEDTAPP Ohio Better Birth Outcomes Prenatal Care Capacity Study (OBBO) supports the work of the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force. The project will:

  • Assess where Medicaid-enrolled pregnant women living in Franklin County receive their prenatal care
  • Estimate the capacity to provide prenatal care
  • Identify gaps in prenatal care access and capacity.

In June of 2014, the Greater Columbus Infant Mortality Task Force issued eight recommendations for lowering the infant mortality rate by 40% and cutting the racial disparity in half by 2020*. One of those recommendations was to improve prenatal care systems and supports for highest risk families. OBBO, in collaboration with the Central Ohio Hospital Council and CelebrateOne, is leading many of the key activities associated with this recommendation. As part of their efforts, OBBO has been tasked with evaluating access to and capacity of prenatal care services and developing a plan to address gaps that includes consideration of evidence-based prenatal and pregnancy support services.

To assist with this task, GRC will create an interactive online tool that identifies all prenatal care providers in Franklin County and maps where pregnant, Medicaid-enrolled women in Franklin County received their prenatal care relative to where they live. This interactive tool will support stratified analysis by the women’s demographic and medical characteristics and provider practice characteristics, and will incorporate additional geographic data. To complement this quantitative data mapping, GRC may also conduct focus groups with currently and recently pregnant women and with providers in Franklin County to better understand barriers to finding, receiving, and providing prenatal care.

This project is supported by the Ohio Department of Medicaid and contributes to the effective and efficient administration of the Medicaid program.