’Windshield’ tours promote understanding of the roots of infant mortality

ANN ARBOR-An improvement in the African-American infant mortality rate in Genesee County, Mich., can be attributed in part to a program that opened the eyes of many in the community to the challenges faced by African-American mothers, according to research led by a faculty member in the University of Michigan School of Public Health. African-American infant mortality declined to a historic level in 2005 and has remained lower, following a series of tours designed to increase understanding of obstacles for expectant mothers in some of the most impoverished areas of Flint, Mich. The Genesee County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH) program's "windshield" tours exposed some 1,000 physicians, hospital administrators and staff, faculty members, medical center residents, community partners and residents to the conditions that have contributed to poor maternal care. "Local hospital staff members, especially medical residents, are from all over the world. They work long hours and commute to work by freeway, so they do not experience the same community conditions as many of their patients," said Daniel Kruger, research assistant professor at the U-M School of Public Health. Kruger and REACH partners conducted preand post-tour surveys to measure participants' understanding of the issues mothers face and the conditions within the community, and to measure any changes that resulted from their increased knowledge.