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Oklahoma Birth Defects Tracking Program

Project Summary

The Oklahoma Birth Defects Registry (OBDR) is an active, statewide, population-based surveillance program. It refers children reported to the registry to SoonerStart Early Intervention Services for diagnosis and evaluation; case management; family training; home visits; certain health services; nursing services; nutrition services; occupational, physical, and speech-language therapy; and special instruction. Through this project, the OBDR will continue its surveillance efforts and work toward a system for referring children with birth defects to comprehensive, community-based, family-centered care.

Surveillance

• Maintain data collection by 4 months from the date of birth or miscarriage in Oklahoma City and Tulsa Hospitals.
• Update regional statistics on the OBDR website.
• Analyze the occurrence of birth defects by geographic location.
• Conduct a longitudinal analysis of multiple-year sibling cases contained in the OBDR.

• Develop folic acid education materials for physicians and the general public to prevent birth defects, heart disease, and cancer.
• Develop a preconception and interconception care project to enhance collection of prenatal diagnosis data and to direct education and referral efforts to high-risk women during the prenatal period.
• Distribute multivitamins to 16 county health departments with the highest prevalence of NTDs. Distribute folic acid educational materials to county health departments.
• Develop and distribute a media plan for county health departments for Spina Bifida Prevention Month in October.
• Develop and distribute a media plan for county health departments for National Folic Acid Prevention Week.
   

• Conduct the Oklahoma Birth Defects Needs Assessment to evaluate all levels of care and services available for affected families from preconception through adulthood. This evaluation will help refer families more effectively to the services they need.
• Contact families that declined to receive free intervention services through the SoonerStart Program to determine why they chose not to receive them.
• Work closely with Title V Maternity and Title X Family Planning Programs to ensure preconception and interconception care are integrated in Maternal and Child Health Programs.
• Write a follow-up article on preconception care that highlights risk factors in six categories— family history, nutrition, medical, reproductive, psychosocial, and lifestyle—for publication in the Journal of the Oklahoma State Medical Association.
   

Date: January 03, 2008
Content source: National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities