Flower Power: Assessing the Impact of the Magnolia Project on Reducing Poor Birth Outcomes in an At-Risk Neighborhood

The past decade has seen tremendous improvements in the health status of children in the United States. In 1992, the infant mortality rate in the United States was at 8.5 per 1,000 live births. By 2002 that figure had declined to 6.9. However, the infant mortality rate for Jacksonville/Duval County in Northeast Florida has consistently remained higher than both the national and state rates, particularly for minority populations. The Magnolia Project was developed by a consortium of local health care providers and concerned community agencies to address racial disparities in birth outcomes. The Magnolia Project provides well-woman clinic and case management services to women in the childbearing years residing in the urban core, where infant mortality is highest. In this paper, we examine the Magnolia Project to assess the impact that this initiative has made on the target community in providing health services and prevention strategies to reduce poor birth outcomes. Included in such services are strategies aimed at reducing factors associated with infant mortality. These strategies have resulted in improved birth outcomes for women associated with the Magnolia Project, including a low incidence of infant mortality and low birth weight babies for participants.