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Mississippi

Past Assignee: From January 1999 until February 2005, there was an assignee located with the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH).

Past Fellow: From September 2003 until January 2005, there was a PhD prepared fellow working with the assignee.

Projects/Impacts:

• Maternal and Infant Mortality Surveillance System: Using CDC’s guidelines for evaluating surveillance systems, the assignee led a public health work group to evaluate the current maternal mortality surveillance system. The evaluation identified that the design of the current system severely limited the state’s ability to use the information. The information is being used to substantially revise the maternal and infant mortality surveillance.
  
• VLBW Infants born in Mississippi: Linked birth and infant death records were used by the CDC assignee to conduct a retrospective cohort analysis of 1,874 very low birth weight infants (<1,500 grams) born to Mississippi resident from 1997 to 1999. The analysis excluded out-of-state and out-of-hospital births and births weighing <500 grams, lethal congenital anomalies and missing data. Major findings include 40% of these VLBW babies being born in specialized perinatal centers. The risk of death of these infants increased with each decreasing level of hospital capability. These findings were presented at the Mississippi Perinatal Association meeting and undergird some planned perinatal system changes occurring in the Closing the Health Gap Initiative on Infant Mortality: African American Focused Risk Reduction project.
  
• Multi-State Evaluation of Camp Noah for Children Affected by Natural Disaster: Thousands of children are affected by natural disaster each year. Camp Noah, a faith-based intervention with the goal of decreasing trauma-reactive behaviors and symptoms among elementary school age children affected by natural, was created in 1997, and by 2002, 34 camps had occurred in eight states. Intervention strategies include (1) helping children process the disaster within a faith-based context, (2) providing a fun environment, and (3) promoting community collaboration. Camp Noah in Mississippi is partially supported by Title V Maternal & Child Health Block Grant funds, and five camps have been carried out in Mississippi communities since 2002. Evaluation of the program revealed that 49% of the children exhibit symptoms prior to camp, children were able to process their experiences in the camp setting, and the camp had many positive effects on children and communities. Difficulties in camp implementation were identified, and evaluation results are being used to restructure the national program.

State-Related Publications:

Zotti, M.E., Gaines, H.D., & Moncrief, CA. Evaluation of maternal death surveillance: A community process. Maternal and Child Health Journal 2002;6(4):263–268.

Zotti, M.E., Replogle, WH., & Sappenfield, WH. Prenatal smoking and birth outcomes among Mississippi residents. Journal of the State Medical Association 2002;44(1):3–9.

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Page last reviewed: 2/8/08
Page last modified: 3/6/06
Content source: Division of Reproductive Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion