Tackling Racial Inequity in Infant Mortality Rates: Public Transit

Page 1

Health is a critical outcome in how we plan

Theodore (Ted) Floros, MPH ‘18 Kaitlyn Sprague, MSW/MBA ‘20

Social Innovation Brown School at Washington University March 2018


You live at 1808 Cass Ave and have an appointment at Barnes-Jewish OBGYN Clinic at Monday at 10:15am. Which route do you take? (ea 20 mins)

(w: .5 mi)

w: 0.6mi

Cass @ N 14th w: 0.2mi w: 1.6mi Cass @ N 18th

w: 0.3mi


Preterm and low birthweight births represent: ● 8% of births in the United States ● 10% of births in Missouri ● 13% of Births in St. Louis


Black babies in St. Louis are

3X more likely to die than white babies.



Generate Health & Build Challenge Grant In 2017, Flourish STL was chosen for the Build Health Challenge. The St. Louis-specific project will focus on improving maternal and infant health outcomes by targeting transportation access for pregnant women and new parents in two contiguous zip codes of 63106 and 63107 in the City of St. Louis.

“Parents rank transportation as a major barrier and significant source of daily stress,� -Kendra Copanas, executive director of Generate Health STL.


Focus Area: 63106/63107 Demographics ● Black: 91.8% ● Low-income: 71.8% ● Female: 58.3% ● Total: 21,947 Health outcomes ● 40% of moms had inadequate prenatal care ● Infant mortality rate: 3x U.S. average Transportation barriers ● 44.3% of households don’t have a vehicle ● 62.8% of female workers take public transit

Women of Reproductive Age: 15-49


Why might pregnant women forego prenatal visits to avoid taking public transportation? Are bus stops and transfer points ● uncomfortable or unsafe to walk to? ● too far away from origins? ● uncomfortable or unsafe for waiting?


Walkability Are bus stops unsafe or uncomfortable to walk to?


There are 341 bus stops in 63106 and 63107.* 15 stations are not shown on the Google Street View.

For the remaining 326 stations: ● 4.9% of the stations have shelter ● 32.5% of the stations have a bench ● 53.7% of the stations have a light nearby (10m)

*Includes bus stops within 0.1 mile of area boundary


Accessibility More than half (53.3%) are not ADA compliant


“I lived on a bus route. But getting to the bus stop was stressful traveling with kids in an unsafe environment.�


Why might pregnant women forego prenatal visits to avoid taking public transportation? Are busses… ● too infrequent? ● too unreliable or unpredictable? ● too long of a commute, relative to cars? ● unsafe or uncomfortable to ride?


Transit Time Frequency Median: 40.0 minutes

Commute time Mean: 35.4 minutes

Bus to Car Ratio 2X Mean: 2.2


“Of all my bus cases over the past 35 years,” Parker says, “I have had a few hundred assaults, and there has never once been a security person on the bus.”


Recommendations â?– Frame the public transit agenda around connecting underserved areas to services and opportunities

â?– Focus investment in areas of high public transportation use with an emphasis on identified Opportunity Blocks

Recommendations


Recommendation #1: Framing Public Transit Agenda Action is Rewarded Columbus’s Challenge: ● 150 babies die before their first birthday in Franklin County ● Linden neighborhood loses four times as many babies as the neighborhood next door Columbus’s Goal: Reduce infant mortality by 40 percent and to cut the health disparity gap in half by 2020

Smart City Challenge, Lessons Learned


Recommendation #2: Targeting Opportunity Blocks Cochran Gardens

Preservation Square

(At least) 10 Blocks ○ 507 women of reproductive age in 2010 Route 32, 74 ○ Build bench / shelter in at least 4 bus stops

5 Blocks ○ 326 women of reproductive age in 2010 Route 32 ○ Build bench / shelter in at least 3 bus stops


2A. Improve Bus Stop Amenities


2B: Increase Frequency of Most Used Lines The bus routes supporting 63106 & 63107 are some of the highest used routes in the city Average Farebox Recovery Ratio: 20.09% Bus Route

FareBox Recovery

94 - Page

41.6%

41 - Lee (every 40)

44.7%

32 -Martin Luther King (every 40)

45.8%

4 - Natural Bridge (every 40)

56.4%

74 - Florissant

65%

70 - Grand

79.7%


BREAKING NEWS Draft Plan for System Changes ● ●

Adjusts 4 and 74 lines to 15 minute “Enhanced Frequent” service Promises increased stop amenities

Now Available: Online Survey and Public Meetings


Theodore Floros MPH ‘18 Lawrence Hatcher MBA ’18 Yaoyue Li MSP ‘19

Huiying Liu MSP ‘19 Kaitlyn Sprague MSW/MBA ’20

We would love to answer any questions


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.