Analyzing strategies for developing a prenatal health care outreach program to reduce social and cultural barriers.

Beginning in March, 1994, a multi-cultural, interdisciplinary team of health care providers at Rochester General Hospital in Rochester, New York, planned and implemented a prenatal outreach program in partnership with the Rochester YWCA. The purpose of the project is to increase access to obstetric and gynecological services for low-income African-Americans, Hispanic, and white women. The processes involved in developing an outreach intervention program, Opening Doors, are described and the conflicts that surfaced during the initial stages of program development are analyzed. The problems which occurred can be attributed to role boundary conflict and differences in philosophy regarding ethnicity and health behavior. Through interviews with the anthropologist on the management team and some changes in the overall structure of the program administration, resolution of the conflicts became possible.