Contra Costa Health Systems 12-Point Plan to Close the Black-White Gap in Birth Outcomes: A Life Course Approach

October 15, 2010 According to the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau, a life course approach is a framework for conceptualizing health needs and services based on how early life events–risks and protective factors–are likely to shape an individual’s lifetime health trajectory. The approach has been adopted by Contra Costa Health Services in California as a way to reduce racial disparity in birth outcomes. The plan differs from traditional approaches to reduce racial disparities in birth outcomes in that it goes beyond prenatal care and the traditional medical model to address . . .