The Role of a Local Health Department in Advancing Health Equity: Universal Postpartum Home Visiting in a Large Urban Setting

Abstract

Introduction: Racial and ethnic inequities persist among birthing families in urban U.S. communities, despite public health efforts to improve outcomes. To address these inequities, in 2020, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) launched Family Connects Chicago (FCC), an evidence-based, universal, postpartum home visiting program. We examine CDPH's transition from “high risk” to universal home visiting to determine whether and how this change represent an explicit commitment to advancing maternal and child health equity. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of key informant interview data ( n =45 interviews) collected from stakeholders involved in FCC's early implementation. Our analysis involved identifying processes used by CDPH in their planning and early implementation of FCC and examining the alignment of these processes with approaches for promoting health equity proposed by Calancie et al. Results: The processes used by CDPH to plan and implement the FCC pilot are reflected in two major themes: (1) CDPH emphasized improving outcomes for all birthing families, and (2) CDPH prioritized engaging multiple stakeholders throughout planning and implementation. Alignment of these themes and their subthemes with the approaches proposed by Calancie et al. demonstrated that CDPH's implementation of FCC represents a commitment to advancing health equity. Discussion: In their planning and implementation of FCC, CDPH appears to have exhibited a concerted effort to address Chicago's persistent health inequities. Institutional commitment, continued stakeholder engagement, ongoing data sharing, and sustainable funding will be crucial to implementing and expanding FCC. Health Equity Implications: The implementation of FCC, a new service delivery approach for maternal and infant health, marks a new beginning in tackling inequities for Chicago's birthing families.