Mental health Outreach for MotherS (MOMS) Partnership®, a program of Yale School of Medicine and the Yale Department of Psychiatry, on Jan. 31 was named one of three finalists for the 2019 Hearst Health Prize.
The award is sponsored by Hearst Health, in partnership with Jefferson College of Population Health, to recognize organizations and individuals that have made outstanding achievements in managing or improving population health.
The three finalists will present at Jefferson College of Population Health’s 19th annual Population Health Colloquium in Philadelphia on March 18, 2019. The winner of the $100,000 award will be announced at the event and the other two finalists will each receive $25,000.
“A record number of organizations applied for this year’s Hearst Health Prize, and we are impressed with the breadth of programs that are making measurable improvements in population health across the U.S.,” Hearst Health President Gregory Dorn, MD, MPH, said. “These three finalists are having a tremendous impact on rural health disparities, the mental health needs of vulnerable mothers and the quality of palliative care. We are delighted to provide a national platform for them to share their work and best practices.”
These three finalists are having a tremendous impact on rural health disparities, the mental health needs of vulnerable mothers and the quality of palliative care.
Gregory Dorn, MD, MPH, Hearst Health President
MOMS Partnership® interrupts intergenerational poverty by improving the mental health of overburdened and under-resourced mothers. Launched in New Haven, the program meets mothers where they are in the community at grocery stores, after-school programs, and community centers, and provides mental health services paired with incentives that meet their basic health needs, such as diapers, feminine hygiene products and paper products. After participating in the program, 75 percent of mothers experienced a decrease in depression, and parenting stress among all dropped by 67 percent.
Watch a video about the MOMS Partnership® featuring Megan Smith, DrPH, MPH, Founder, Principal Investigator and Executive Director of MOMS, and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and in the Child Study Center at Yale School of Medicine.
Hearst Health Prize applications were evaluated by Jefferson College of Population Health faculty and a distinguished panel of judges. The applications were scored based on the program’s population health impact or outcome demonstrated by measurable improvement; use of evidence-based interventions and best practices to improve the quality of care; promotion of communication, collaboration and engagement; scalability and sustainability; and innovation. The three finalists were the highest scoring in these criteria.