Reducing the Impact of Infant Mortality on Minorities through Media Interventions

About the Program

Category: Civic Education and Public Information (Best in Category)

Year: 2011

The Baltimore County Department of Health received a grant for the Maryland Department of Health and the Mental Hygiene Office of Minority Health to address the dramatic increase in infant mortality, (the number of deaths in infants one year of age or younger) per 1,000 live births in minority populations. Funding from the State allowed the Department of health to develop three thirty-second commercials and digital lobby screen ads in collaboration with the five movie theaters located in Baltimore County. These media interventions targeted minority teens and younger adults, the age group at highest risk for losing an infant before one year of age. The messages for the interventions were: encouraging early prenatal care, promoting safe sleeping practices for infants, and handling infant crying in safe ways and never shaking babies. To date, over half a million movie patrons have been exposed to the county’s messages and have been provided with life-saving information and resources. The last campaign is scheduled to end on February 24, and expected to reach an additional 161,579 movie patrons. The content used to develop each commercial/ad has also been used to create print materials and display boards for community outreach purposes.