With so many factors influencing a healthy pregnancy, how can we maximize healthy outcomes for a whole city, or county? The answer may be in a tailored approach. A recent study, published in the Journal of Epidemiological Research and authored by a team in the California Preterm Birth Initiative, suggests that an important aspect to decreasing preterm birth is to orient prevention and intervention around a pregnant person’s risk and protective factors, in their local context. A targeted, place-based approach that leverages local knowledge and assets may deliver the impact needed to turn the tide on premature birth. The publication,Comparison of risk and protective factors for preterm birth in rural, suburban, and urban Fresno County, California,established that risk and resilience factors vary by area, and detailed prevalence of risk and resilience factors across Fresno county. Data on these risk and resilience factors is being integrated into an interactive map, which can be used to inform policy and health care priorities designed to reduce preterm birth rates in Fresno County.
About 8.5% of babies born in California are preterm, with the highest rates in Fresno County. The study looked at the maternal characteristics and obstetric factors putting women in Fresno County at higher risk of preterm birth or protecting them against preterm birth. The researchers examined these factors by whether a woman lives in urban, suburban, or rural parts of the county.
Alongside our partners, we believe that mapping the preterm birth risk and protective factors we found will help people in Fresno County identify ways they may be able support women and to reduce preterm birth rates through local approaches. Ultimately, refining our understanding of risk and resilience- and how these factors vary across a geography- are fundamental steps in pursuing a precision public health approach to achieve health equity.
Publication information
Comparison of risk and protective factors for preterm birth in rural, suburban, and urban Fresno County, California
Rebecca J. Baer_1,2 , Lauren Lessard3 , Marta Jankowska2,4 , James G. Anderson2,5 , Jessica Block4 , Christina D. Chambers1 , Jonathan Fuchs2,6 , Miriam Kuppermann2,7,8 , Monica R. McLemore2,9 , Gail Newel2,7,10 , Scott P. Oltman2,7 , Elizabeth E. Rogers2,5 , Kelli K. Ryckman11 , Martina A. Steurer2,5,7 , Jiue-An Yang4 , Linda S. Franck2,9 , Larry Rand2,8 , Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski2,7
1 Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
2 California Preterm Birth Initiative, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
3 Central Valley Health Policy Institute, California State University Fresno, Fresno, California, USA
4 Calit2/Qualcomm Institute, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
5 Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
6 San Francisco Department of Public Health, San Francisco, California, USA
7 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
8 Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
9 Department of Family Health Care Nursing, School of Nursing, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
10 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of California San Francisco Fresno Center for Medical Education and Research, Fresno, California, USA
11 Departments of Epidemiology and Pediatrics, University of Iowa College of Public Health and Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
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