New Jersey maternal mortality dashboard: an interactive social-determinants-of-health tool

Abstract

Objectives The United States maternal mortality (MM) rate is the highest amid developed/industrialized nations, and New Jersey’s rate is among the highest. Healthcare professionals, public health officials, and policy makers are working to understand drivers of MM. An interactive data visualization tool for MM and health-related information (New Jersey Maternal Mortality Dashboard [NJMMD]) was recently developed. Methods NJMMD is an open-source application that uses data from publicly available state/federal government sources to provide a cross-sectional, high-level depiction of potential relationships between MM and demographic, social, and public health factors. Results MM rates or ratios (maternal deaths/1,000 women aged 15–49 years or 100,000 live births, respectively) are available by year (2005–2017), age (5-year [15–49] periods), and race/ethnicity (non-Hispanic White, Black, or Asian; Hispanic; or other), and by contextual social determinants of health (percent insured; percent covered by Medicaid; difference in nulliparous, term, singleton, vertex Cesarian birth rate from New Jersey goal; number of obstetrician/gynecologists or midwives per capita; and poverty rate). Bar graphs also can be produced with these variables. Conclusions NJMMD is the first publicly available, interactive, state-focused MM tool that takes into account the intersection of social and demographic determinants of health, which play important roles in health outcomes. Trends and patterns in variables associated with MM and health can be identified for New Jersey and each of its 11 counties, and inform areas of focus for further analysis. Outputs may enable researchers, policy makers, and others to develop appropriate interventions and be better positioned to set benchmarks, allocate resources, and evaluate outcomes.

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