Maternal/Child Health
Indicator Maps & Tables

Critical Issues, Key Leaders, & Community Action

Good health is central to the quality of life of both individuals and communities.  It is, arguably, the most important single determinant of overall well-being.  While good health cannot be ensured, the opportunity to be healthy can be maximized through the steps taken by individuals, families, and communities.  Promoting child health contributes to the long-term social, economic and physical health of the community, in addition to increasing the well-being and productivity of children themselves.  Additionally, research demonstrates that providing for the early health needs of children improves their life-long health and reduces societal costs related to treating illness and health problems.

As with virtually every indicator of child well-being in St. Louis, there are vast disparities in the health status of children in this metropolitan region.  These disparities are driven in large part by access to health care, with barriers to care coming in many forms, including the cost of services, geographic proximity to services and transportation issues, and cultural issues involving both the providers and recipients of health care.  A community assessment of child health, Child Health at the Core of the St. Louis Region, conducted by Vision for Children at Risk with the support of the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) was completed in June 2005.  The report identifies major childhood health concerns and offers recommendations for how they might be addressed.  Related research conducted by the Regional Health Commission, also with the support of MFH, offers additional data, analysis and recommendations directed to improving child health.  Major maternal and child health issues identified by this research include the following:

Groups such as the Missouri Foundation for Health, the Deaconess Foundation, the Maternal, Child, and Family Health Coalition, the St. Louis Lead Prevention Coalition, the Regional Health Commission, St. Louis Community Foundation, Mercy Health Plans, the Immunization Coalition, Lead Safe St. Louis, the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services are providing leadership and resources to address priority maternal and child health issues.  Conversely, the state of Missouri has diminished and complicated provision of maternal and child health care by attempting to impose draconian cuts in both the Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).