INFANT DEATH HEALTH POLICY 1

Infant Death Health Policy Issue

Ashley Dougherty

College of Nursing, University of South Florida

INFANT DEATH HEALTH POLICY 2

Infant Death Health Policy Issue

Infant death rates in Polk County have been assessed and there is an obvious need for

nursing intervention and change. There was research performed on the possible reasons for the

issue and interventions were evaluated. Several interventions were identified including primary,

secondary, and tertiary nursing, population interventions. Below will identify the community

health concern, create a health model, expand upon the health policy that could be implemented

to improve population health as well as save infant lives.

Identification of a Population-Specific Priority Health Concern

Infant death in Polk County is a health concern that needs to be addressed, an area of

improvement through prevention is encouraging mothers to breast feed their infants. A study was

done to see how the effects of formula versus breast milk feedings on infants with low birth

weights (Brown, 2019). It was found that the maternal milk is still highly favored over formula

for any infant, low birth weight or not (Brown, 2019). Healthy people 2030, hopes to increase

infants who are breastfed to one year to improve infant deaths from low birth weight. Breast

feeding has been found to reduce risk for many diseases and infant death.

Population Diagnosis

Polk County neonatal infants aged 0-6 months are at risk of death or disease due to

underweight and preterm births.

Impact of Community Health Models

Polk County neonatal infants aged 0-6 months are at risk of death or disease due to

underweight and preterm births. Although their multiple weaknesses that will be identified, Polk,

County has many resources to attempt to improve the population and administer better healthcare

overall. It is important to identify what they are and see how they play into the health
INFANT DEATH HEALTH POLICY 3

assessment that is being performed. SDOH factors that have affected Polk County include

education and access to healthcare. The access to healthcare is what can be improved for this

specific population, the mothers of these infants need to education given to them to help their

infants.

Tertiary Level of Prevention

A tertiary prevention was identified and involves aiding mothers with infants that already

have low birth weight. A study was done to see how the effects of formula versus breast milk

feedings on infants with low birth weights (Brown, 2019). This prevention can almost be

considered an intervention because the infant is already at a low birth weight and will need to be

cared for in a NICU. It was found that the maternal milk is still highly favored over formula for

any infant, low birth weight or not (Brown, 2019). Maternal milk has many more immune

benefits that are essential for the infant’s infection protection as well as increasing their weight to

nay effective value (Brown, 2019). The public health nurse would create a plan to educate and

aid mothers to properly feed their infants.

Development of Health Policy

In order to attempt to improve this health disparity there should be a policy put in place

that educates mothers who have infants that are of low birth weight. The beginning piece of

education should be before they are leaving the hospital. Then at their follow up appointments

the infants should be reassessed, and interventions can be put in place if needed. The

interventions can include nutrient supplementation or continued breast-feeding education.

Policy Proposal

If this needed health policy is established, it will pave the way for the decline of infant

death rates and improved patient outcomes. Implementing this nutritional infant education will
INFANT DEATH HEALTH POLICY 4

decrease the death rates for infants 0-6 months of age. Healthy People 2030 has identified a

priority goal of decreasing infants’ deaths from 5.8 infant deaths per 1,000 births to 5 per 1,000.

Evidence supports the use of increased feeding education to mothers can be used to reach this

objective (Brown, 2019).

Policy and Program Implementation

The program will be targeted toward infants 0-6 months who are born with a low birth

weight and implemented at the community level. Implementation of this program will include

approaching key stakeholders and securing funding. Key stakeholders include Lakeland

Regional Hospital and Watson Clinics. The program will begin with the postpartum units in Polk

County tracking the low birth rates and which infants have low birth rates. The nurses on the

postpartum units and in the NICU will need to be informed. The nurse managers will need to be

tracking that their floor nurses are educating these mothers.

The cost will mainly be the education for the nurses to know how to track and follow

these infants and their mothers. There is a nonprofit organization called The Nest in Lakeland

that provides classes to help mothers. This could be an organization willing to help and partner in

this program. Supporters could include local churches, also the nonprofit One More Child has a

very large presence in Lakeland, and they could be a very big supporter. There could be

opposition from primary care providers if they do not see the benefit in implementing this

program, they could say there is enough education provided. However, Primary providers could

be the biggest advocate for this program, and they are needed to implement the second half of the

program which is ensuring the infants are receiving proper nutrition.

INFANT DEATH HEALTH POLICY 5

Conclusion

Infant death is not an easy subject to discuss and many people don’t want to, but nurses

have the unique ability to make a difference and stand up for those who can’t help themselves.

By assessing health disparities, finding evidence-based interventions, and then implementing

them is empowering the community to move forward with better health outcomes. Mothers need

education on how to feed their infants properly, and infants need to be advocated for because

they don’t have a voice.

Personal Relevance

Improving the outcomes for mothers and babies will be an important focus in my career

as a nurse. Furthermore, having an understanding of how to conduct a needs assessment,

evaluate evidence-based interventions, and develop a policy and program will help me achieve

goals for my patients regardless of if it is an outpatient or inpatient setting. I plan to work in a

maternal newborn unit after graduation and now see that I can make a difference if I see a

population that is in need.

INFANT DEATH HEALTH POLICY 6

References

Brown, J., Walsh, V., & McGuire, W. (2019). Formula versus maternal breast milk for feeding

preterm or low birth weight infants. The Cochrane database of systematic reviews, 8(8),

CD002972. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD002972.pub3

Increase the proportion of infants who are breastfed at 1 year - mich-16. Increase the proportion

of infants who are breastfed at 1 year - MICH-16 - Healthy People 2030. (n.d.). Retrieved

April 18, 2022, from https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-

objectives/infants/increase-proportion-infants-who-are-breastfed-1-year-mich-16

Minnesota Department of Health. (2019). Public health interventions: Applications for public

health nursing (2nd ed.): Minnesota Department of Health.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2020). Social Determinants of Health.

Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-

determinants-of-health

Social Determinants of Health. Social Determinants of Health - Healthy People 2030. (n.d.).

Retrieved March 24, 2022, from https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-

data/social-determinants-health

The nest lakeland: Lactation services. nestlakeland. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2022, from

https://www.thenestlakeland.org/lactation-support