Safe Mom, Safe Baby Program Evaluation

Paula TranMaster of Public Health Candidate 2010

Master of Public Health SymposiumNovember 11, 2009

Overview• Site

– Center for Urban Population Health• Program Background• Purpose • Methods• Results• Program Recommendations• Limitations• Practical Significance

Safe Mom, Safe Baby (SMSB) Program Background

• Identifies pregnant women experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV)

• Program model combines screening, case management, advocacy and mentors, and aims to offer culturally sensitive, stage-based interventions.

• An initiative contributing to efforts to improve birth outcomes in the Milwaukee area

Qualitative Evaluation Purpose• Conduct key informant interviews to gather and

analyze feedback from former Safe Mom, Safe Baby participants to provide recommendations for program adjustments

• Interviews will supplement a more rigorous quantitative evaluation of the program

Methods• IRB Exemption• Interview Tool• Identified and contacted key informants• Scheduled and conducted interviews• Oral Consent• Recorded interviews• Interviews analyzed for common themes

Common Themes

•Social Support and Safety•“When I come to my meetings with her it is like a stress relief class and when I come home I feel like a different person. She made you feel like you could put all of your trust in her”

Common Themes•Resources

•Financial help

•Community referrals

•Problem solving

•“… when my child was born I didn’t have the things that I needed. At this time me and the father was on very very bad terms and he didn’t want to step up to the plate. The program helped me get a car seat, a bed, diapers, and formula. That there is a blessing”

Common Themes• Participants left program with positive outlooks

• Increased self-confidence• Stress relief• Becoming a better mom• “I have gotten so much more confidence than I could have ever

imagined-so much confidence when it comes to my son, being myself, and working. My thing is, if not for SMSB staff I would have given my son up for adoption, I would never have known him or what it was like to be a mom. She has given me the greatest gift of all-my son-to know how to love him and be there for him and to enjoy him. I didn’t know any of that before”

Common Themes•Participants are making positive changes

•Leaving abusers

•Finishing school

•Planning to go back to school

•Focusing on parenting skills/children

Common Themes

•Effectiveness of a personal contact in the program

•Qualities appreciated of program staff

•Empathy

•Respect

•Reliability

•Flexibility

•Non-judgmental approach

Common Themes• Improvement areas

• Additional outreach• Concern of anonymity• “I was red-flagged, when I was in the hospital

nurses came in and wanted to talk to me and the nurses weren’t nice and asked my family to leave. I didn’t appreciate being treated like a victim”

Overall FindingProgram participants were highly satisfied with their experience in SMSB and believe strongly that the program should continue.

Program Recommendations• Increase outreach and SMSB awareness• Clarify program components• Ensure confidential referral process• Services which can be improved upon:

• Housing assistance• Legal services• Employment assistance

Limitations

• Interviews selected by SMSB staff– Bias

• Interview site• Interviews were brief and not specific• Interview Tool

Practical Significance: What I have learned

•Continuous evaluation

•Community-based input

•Evaluation is one venue to bridge the gap between academia, practitioners and the community

•Challenges: scheduling, flexibility

Acknowledgements• Jessica Bergstrom, MPH (Preceptor)• Alice Kramer RN, MS, CEN• Tina Watts RN• Nancy Doucette-Wilkinson, BS • Barbra Beck, PhD (Capstone Advisor)• Trina Salm Ward, MSW (Capstone Committee

Member)• Barbara Duerst, UW MPH Program

ReferencesRossi P, Lipsey M, Freeman H. (2004) Evaluation: A Systematic Approach. London: Sage Publications