Public Health first in the state with maternal, child, and adolescent health data dashboards

The San Bernardino County Department of Public Health (DPH) is advancing maternal health by launching its own maternal, child, and adolescent health (MCAH) data dashboards, making San Bernardino County the first in California to have its maternal health indicators on a digital platform accessible to the public.

With a goal of increasing transparency and access to data, the San Bernardino County local MCAH Program has initiated the dashboards featuring regularly tracked indicators by region, such as live births, preterm birth, low birthweight, prenatal care in the first trimester and infant mortality. Users can explore how these indicators vary across San Bernardino County regions by race and ethnicity. The dashboards can be found at bit.ly/mcahdashboard.

Infant mortality serves as a measure of a community’s general health status, along with its social and economic well-being. Despite the infant mortality rate in San Bernardino County remaining relatively unchanged since 2017, significant disparities persist, with non-Hispanic Black infants facing three times greater risk of infant death than infants of other race/ethnicities.

“We believe these data dashboards will provide the transparency needed to raise awareness about these persistent disparities in health and mobilize community engagement to create partnerships for sustainable systems and policy change,” stated Public Health Director Joshua Dugas.

DPH is asking for help from the community to partner in developing solutions to improve fetal and infant mortality. Our Community Action Team is resuming its work in 2024 and we invite organizations that provide services and resources to women, infants and families to be part of the conversation. For more information about how to join, email askMCAH@SBCounty.gov.

Additional County Update News – January 11, 2024