October 22, 2024
Community Health Corner
The National Extension Framework for Health Equity and Well-being recommends using community development strategies and health literacy programs to ensure that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. The following resources help us improve well-being for all, and achieve Healthy Kansas 2030 and Healthy People 2030 objectives.
New Child Vaccination Data: New NIS-Child (National Immunization Survey-Child) vaccination data were recently released for the 2021 birth year/cohort. Check out the data on the interactive ChildVaxView tool. Kansas data show increases in all but one recommended vaccine compared to the previous year and ranked in the Top 10 for two vaccines compared to the other 50 states. Learn more here on the CDC’s vaccination website. Data are also available on the IKC Data Dashboard.
Two Rural Health Conferences:
- Kansas Rural Health Association annual conference is November 20 at McPherson College. Highlights include sessions with state and federal experts on rural health workforce resource, integrated behavioral health, two panels and a tour of a nearby rural emergency hospital. Register here.
- Kansas Hospital Association’s Kansas Rural Health Symposium on November 21 in Wichita. The symposium is designed for administrators, hospital trustees and community members interested in rural health issues. View the brochure here and register here.
Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month: Miscarriage, stillbirth, and other conditions can cause a pregnancy to end before or during birth. Infant death can be caused by preterm birth, birth defects, and other health conditions. Join the March of Dimes, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment and Kansas Perinatal Community Collaboratives in building awareness for the prevention of stillbirth.
Use and share the KDHE Action Alert, which includes key points, calls to action, social media messages and additional resources. KSRE currently has four certified Safe Sleep Instructors who can be engaged for community baby-showers, professional and parental presentations and “crib” clinics. The KIDS Network interactive map helps in locating Safe Sleep Instructors for local events.
Kansas has a high risk of infant and maternal mortality linked to obstetrical deserts (i.e., health care provider/professional workforce shortage areas) across Kansas. This recent Kansas Reflector article highlights the lack of maternal health care providers in rural and frontier regions and what can be done to address the problem.
For more information, contact Elaine Johannes, ejohanne@ksu.edu; and Stephanie Gutierrez, smgutier@k-state.edu