Undoing Racism Through Genesee County's REACH Infant Mortality Reduction Initiative

Abstract

Background: Genesee County Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health Program (REACH) is a Community-Based Public Health partnership for reducing African American infant mortality rates that hosts the Undoing Racism Workshop (URW).

Objectives: Assess the URW's effectiveness in promoting an understanding of racism, institutional racism, and how issues related to race/ethnicity can affect maternal and infant health.

Methods: Recent URW participants (n=84) completed brief preassessment and postassessment forms; participants (n=101) also completed an on-line, long-term assessment (LTA).

Results: URWs promoted understanding of racism and institutional racism, although they were less effective in addressing racism as related to maternal and infant health.

Conclusions: The URWs were most effective in the domains related to their standard content. Additional effort is necessary to customize URWs when utilized for activities beyond their original purpose of community mobilization.