PRETERM BIRTH AS A PUBLIC HEALTH INITIATIVE

• Published in: Public health reports (1974) Vol. 123; no. 5; pp. 548 - 550
• Main Author: Galson, Steven K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Association of Schools of Public Health 01.09.2008; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Female; Health care delivery; Health care inequality; Health outcomes; Humans; Infant, Newborn; Infant, Newborn, Diseases - economics; Infant, Newborn, Diseases - epidemiology; Infant, Newborn, Diseases - etiology; Infants; Initiatives; Mothers; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome - economics; Pregnancy Outcome - epidemiology; Premature birth; Premature Birth - economics; Premature Birth - epidemiology; Premature Birth - prevention & control; Public health; Risk Factors; SURGEON GENERAL'S PERSPECTIVES; Surgeon General's s; United States - epidemiology; Womens health; United States
• ISSN: 0033-3549; 1468-2877
• DOI: 10.1177/003335490812300502

Galson discusses the public health initiatives for preterm birth. Among other things, the Office of the Surgeon General is committed to eliminating health disparities in preterm birth in the US. The Committee on Understanding Premature Birth and Assuring Healthy Outcomes, convened by the Institute of Medicine, reported that non-Hispanic African American women have 1.3 times the risk of a preterm birth compared with non-Hispanic white women. Women from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are also at increased risk for preterm birth. Lowering the rate of this health disparity is essential to the nation's public health.