Maryland Infant Mortality Epidemiology Work Group Findings from Data Analysis and Overall Recommendations

The Infant Mortality Epidemiology Workgroup was charged to examine the risk factors associated with infant mortality in Maryland and to identify interventions that were most likely to enhance the state’s ability to achieve the goal of 10% reduction in infant mortality and to reduce the health disparities gap in infant mortality rates. The Workgroup examined linked birth and infant death data from the Maryland Vital Statistics Administration, and data from the Maryland Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

Sharing overdose data across state agencies to inform public health strategies : A case study

Data sharing and analysis are important components of coordinated and cost-effective public health strategies. However, legal and policy barriers have made data from different agencies difficult to share and analyze for policy development. To address a rise in overdose deaths, Maryland used an innovative and focused approach to bring together data on overdose decedents across multiple agencies. The effort was focused on developing discrete intervention points based on information yielded on decedents' lives, such as vulnerability upon release from incarceration. Key aspects of this approach included gubernatorial leadership, a unified commitment to data sharing across agencies with memoranda of understanding, and designation of a data management team. Preliminary results have yielded valuable insights and have helped inform policy. This process of navigating legal and privacy concerns in data sharing across multiple agencies may be applied to a variety of public health problems challenging health departments across the country