The South Carolina Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) will collect data from mothers that recently delivered live-born infants about their behaviors, experiences, and attitudes before, during, and after pregnancy. The broad, long-tem objectives of this project are to improve the overall health and outcomes for South Carolina resident mothers and infants. More specifically, South Carolina PRAMS will be used to monitor progress toward the Healthy People 2020 Maternal and Child Health Objectives, identify cost-efficient ways to reduce maternal and infant morbidity and mortality, and inform and evaluate the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's Maternal and Child Health programs. Improving the health status of pregnant women, newborn infants, and post-partum women are important components to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's mission to promote and protect the health of the public and the environment. South Carolina PRAMS data collection will be conducted by taking a stratified, systematic sample of mothers delivering live births every month to be surveyed about their behaviors, experiences, and attitudes before, during, and shortly after pregnancy. Data collection will be primarily done by mailed surveys, with a telephone follow-up phase for mail non-respondents. A combined mail and telephone response rate of 65% will be a primary data quality goal. Data collected will be weighted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be representative of the population of South Carolina resident women delivering live births in South Carolina each year. Collected data will be analyzed by qualified staff within the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to assess maternal and child health trends, characteristics of mothers and infants with selected morbidities, and the performance of programs. Data collected will also be available to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention staff as well as to university, government, and private researchers across the United States and abroad.
SOUTH CAROLINA PRAMS PROJECT NARRATIVE This research can be used to assess the overall health of mothers and infants in South Carolina and inform and evaluate programs charged with improving the health of this population. The health of mothers and infants is a key component of overall public health.
