What is the Health Start Program?
The Health Start Program uses community health workers to provide education, support, and advocacy services to pregnant/postpartum women and their families in targeted communities in Pima County.
Families receive home visits and case management with oversight by nurses and social workers, through the enrolled child’s second year of life. Pregnant women are connected to prenatal care providers and receive on-going education about fetal development and health behaviors that can impact birth outcomes. Families are referred to community services as needed and assisted in accessing those services.
The community health workers educate parents about child development, immunizations, home and vehicle safety. The community health workers also screen each child to identify potential developmental delays and refer the family to the appropriate provider.
Health Start is funded through the Arizona Department of Health Services. Health Start services are provided at no charge to eligible families.
Who can enroll?
- Any woman who is pregnant
- Any woman or family who has a child under age 2
Why is this program needed?
To address health, environmental and stress factors that can impact birth outcomes and the development of infants and children. We know low birth weight babies are 40 times more likely to die in the first month of life, and are at greater risk for long-term health and developmental problems. Research also indicates that infants born to women with no prenatal care are 16 times more likely to die in the first month of life than babies of women who had more than 5 prenatal visits.
What are the goals of the program?
- To prevent low birth weight in infants
- Increase care for high-risk pregnant women
- To ensure that every program child is appropriately immunized and has a medical home
- To provide health education to pregnant/postpartum women and their families on topics ranging from prenatal care, parenting, preconception/interconception health, breast feeding and well childcare to safety, and other issues
- To screen for early identification of developmental delays and make appropriate referrals for treatment.