From Detroit to Kansas City: Adapting the WE CARE Model to Improve Maternal and Infant Health
In brief
In pilot, 58% booked follow-up care and 39% attended visits
A community-driven WE CARE program was adapted for Missouri and tested in a safety-net emergency department, enrolling 45 women. Over half scheduled follow-up appointments and roughly four in ten actually attended, with participants praising the decision-support tool and navigation help. The findings show the model is feasible and acceptable, though larger studies are needed to gauge impact on infant mortality disparities.
- Journal
- Health equity (Q1)
- Published
- 31 July 2026
- Study design
- Phase 1 (first-in-human) trial
- Evidence level
- Level 4, Very Low (CEBM 4)
- Authors
- Jenifer E Allsworth, Jannette Berkley-Patton, Bong Nguyen, Traci N Johnson, Anahi R Primgaard, Ayla T Nguyen, et al.
- PMID
- 42542753
- DOI
- 10.1177/24731242261455680
Why clinicians should know about it
- Picked for Neonatology (paper of the day, 3 August 2026): WE CARE model adapted to improve maternal‑infant health equity
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The United States lags peer nations in infant mortality, with persistent racial and geographic inequities. In Missouri, Black infants experience mortality rates more than double those of White infants. Addressing these disparities requires community-driven interventions beginning before conception and extending beyond routine perinatal care. OBJECTIVES: We describe the development and feasibility of Women & Person-Empowered Community Access for Reproductive Equity (WE CARE)-Jackson County (JC), a reproductive justice-informed intervention adapted from the Detroit WE CARE model to address reproductive health and infant mortality disparities. DESIGN/SETTING: WE CARE-JC used a two-phase, mixed-methods design. Phase 1 included listening sessions with advocacy groups and reproductive-age women, and a community survey (N = 537) to identify needs, barriers, and engagement strategies. Phase 2 piloted the intervention in a safety-net hospital's emergency department. Intervention components included the "One Key Question," MyPath decision-support tool, community health worker-led counseling, and follow-up care navigation. RESULTS: Listening sessions identified trusted providers as preferred sources of family planning guidance, while stigma, limited provider access, and knowledge gaps were key barriers. Survey data showed social (13% housing, 22% food, and 35% transportation insecurity) and medical (51% comorbid condition) vulnerability. In the pilot, 45 women were enrolled (85% of those approached), of whom 58% scheduled follow-up care and 10 (39%) attended appointments. Feedback from eight attendees showed high acceptability of the MyPath tool, counseling, and navigation support. IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH EQUITY: WE CARE-JC demonstrated feasibility and acceptability of a reproductive justice-informed, community-engaged model to reduce barriers and improve equitable access to reproductive health care. This model provides a scalable framework for addressing upstream drivers of infant mortality inequities.
Abstract as published, via PubMed.
For healthcare professionals. The summary is generated by AI from the published abstract, and the evidence level is assigned automatically from the study design on the Oxford CEBM hierarchy. Neither is medical advice. Read the full paper before changing practice.