Payton Colleen, Mishkin Kathryn, Davis Cee Ann, Katzburg Judith, Walker Deborah Klein
School of Nursing and Public Health, Moravian University, 18018, Bethlehem, PA, USA.
March of Dimes, 22202, Arlington, VA, USA.
Matern Child Health J. 2022 May 6. doi: 10.1007/s10995-022-03398-2.
The American Public Health Association (APHA) policy statements are written by members and approved by the APHA Governing Council. Policy statements inform APHA's position on key public health issues. Maternal and child health (MCH) is a broad discipline focused on health issues concerning women, children, youth, and families. APHA's MCH policies from the last 50 years were reviewed in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the MCH Section of APHA.
A cross-sectional design was utilized to identify MCH-related statements within the larger APHA policy statement database from 1970 to 2019 (N = 1,110). The policy statements were coded as primary MCH (main focus was MCH) or secondary MCH (mentioned MCH subpopulations as vulnerable population). The primary MCH themes were also identified.
545 (49%) of the APHA policy statements were related to MCH, including 226 (20%) coded as primary MCH and 319 (29%) secondary MCH. The primary MCH policy statements had a main focus on the following subpopulations: women (44%), children (33%), adolescents/young adults (15%), infants (12%), families (5%), and men (2%). Major themes included reproductive health/family planning, school health, children's health, pregnancy/childbirth, and breastfeeding/nutrition.
MCH policy statements remained an important part of APHA's policy and advocacy focus over time as indicated through the continuous high number and proportion of MCH policy statements. The historical overview of MCH policy provides insight into critical policy issues confronting the MCH field over the decades and provides guidance for future policy initiatives including a need for increased emphasis on diverse MCH populations.
This analysis provides a 50 year overview of MCH themes as viewed by the policy statements published by APHA, the largest public health professional organization in the United States. These policy statements represent the cutting edge of MCH policy efforts and were written to influence national, state, and local public health policy. APHA policy statements should continue to address these important MCH topics in the future with an increased emphasis on diverse MCH populations. APHA policy making is a valuable national professional activity for the MCH field with the goal of improving the health for MCH communities.
美国公共卫生协会（APHA）的政策声明由成员撰写，并经APHA理事会批准。政策声明阐明了APHA在关键公共卫生问题上的立场。母婴健康（MCH）是一个广泛的学科领域，专注于涉及妇女、儿童、青少年和家庭的健康问题。为庆祝APHA母婴健康分会成立100周年，回顾了过去50年APHA的母婴健康政策。
采用横断面设计，从1970年至2019年的APHA政策声明数据库中识别与母婴健康相关的声明（N = 1110）。政策声明被编码为主要母婴健康（主要关注点为母婴健康）或次要母婴健康（将母婴健康亚人群提及为弱势群体）。还确定了主要母婴健康主题。
545项（49%）APHA政策声明与母婴健康相关，其中226项（20%）被编码为主要母婴健康，319项（29%）为次要母婴健康。主要母婴健康政策声明主要关注以下亚人群：妇女（44%）、儿童（33%）、青少年/青年（15%）、婴儿（12%）、家庭（5%）和男性（2%）。主要主题包括生殖健康/计划生育、学校健康、儿童健康、怀孕/分娩以及母乳喂养/营养。
如母婴健康政策声明持续保持的高数量和高比例所示，随着时间推移，母婴健康政策声明仍然是APHA政策和宣传重点的重要组成部分。母婴健康政策的历史概述为几十年来母婴健康领域面临的关键政策问题提供了见解，并为未来的政策举措提供了指导，包括需要更加关注不同的母婴健康人群。
本分析提供了美国最大的公共卫生专业组织APHA发布的政策声明所体现的50年母婴健康主题概述。这些政策声明代表了母婴健康政策努力的前沿，旨在影响国家、州和地方的公共卫生政策。未来，APHA政策声明应继续关注这些重要的母婴健康主题，并更加关注不同人群。APHA的政策制定是母婴健康领域一项具有重要价值的全国性专业活动，目标是改善母婴健康群体的健康状况。
