When we introduced MIMI, UbiCare’s national public health initiative to help reduce preventable maternal and infant mortality, we noted that U.S. infant mortality rates are decreasing, though at a slower rate than in comparable countries. Unlike infant mortality, however, maternal mortality in the U.S. has steadily increased over the last 25 years.
In an October 2018 article on the Harvard Health Blog entitled, “A soaring maternal mortality rate: What does it mean for you?”, Neel Shah, MD, noted that, “...four out of five of these deaths happen in the weeks and months before or after birth. So, they occur not in the hospital, but in our communities.”
UbiCare designed SmarteXp© to communicate with patients where they live, outside the four walls of the hospital. But MIMI presented new challenges that required us to rethink how communication designed to empower expectant and new moms should be composed and delivered. As a technology company, we tend to use the latest, most attention-grabbing tech in our programs. But as a healthcare company, we have to accommodate a wide range of technological access and proficiency among patients. To date, digital solutions have not been targeted enough to show promise or change outcomes for those most at risk for maternal and infant mortality. Many of them don't have access to higher-tech digital communications.
Our SmarteXp© platform communicates with patients via email and text messages, rather than smartphone apps. This allows patients without smartphones or with less expensive smartphones to easily interact with the content. But what if a patient with a mobile phone has a limited plan or limited access to WIFI? What happens if a patient uses a prepaid, or “burner,” phone with just voice and text?
For MIMI, we've developed a new communication strategy to communicate with and collect information from patients that doesn’t require access to the internet. We didn’t eliminate a rich, engaging web and multimedia experience from our programming, but we did make the most critical information available to all patients with mobile phones, regardless of their level of access. Plus, we've added the requirement of auto-enrollment in the program to reduce disparities in access and care and to ensure maximum impact.
Through MIMI, UbiCare is committed to engaging, educating and supporting all expectant and new moms from early pregnancy through their babies’ first six months. Our evidence-based content aligns with prenatal checkups and well-baby appointments. It provides patients with actionable information and resources to foster preparedness and raise awareness of warning signs. Topics covered include:
- Prenatal care, testing and nutrition
- Postpartum complications and depression
- Infant health screenings, vaccinations,
- Safe sleep practices and more.
These topics address the areas where information can be most empowering for expectant and new moms — areas where influencing behaviors may have an even greater impact on health outcomes than the medical care patients receive. This content, combined with our new communications strategy, makes MIMI a game-changing element in support of your efforts to reduce preventable maternal and infant mortality.
If you'd like to learn more about MIMI and how the program can support your commitment to reduce maternal and infant mortality, submit the simple form below.
