An Evaluation of a Multifaceted Prenatal Program Serving a Diverse Inner-City Population

ABSTRACT

A multifaceted prenatal program incorporating social service and educational components as well as medical care has been operating in Cleveland, Ohio since 1966. We evaluate this program's effect on reducing infant mortality with data from linked birth, infant death and program files for 1985–87 resident birth cohorts. Adjusted for level of risk, participation in the prenatal program was associated with improved survival of newborns among African-Americans and possibly also Hispanics. However, Non-Hispanic White clients, some of whom may have been of Appalachian background, had an excessively high rate of postneonatal mortality. We discuss several hypotheses which might account for these findings.