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Show average American may view almost 7 hours of television per day. That figure may rise dramatically in the less educated population. It followed that the use of television would be the keystone of the media package to attract attention. Radio stations were also intimately involved as was the print media. Banners, posters, and advertising on Utah Transit Authority buses were mainstays in the media blitz to herald the program and to sustain its image during the entire two years. A particularly appealing and clever innovation was the use of incentives for pregnant patients to obtain prenatal care early, preferably in the first trimester. This part of the program is known as "Baby Booty." Pregnant mothers were asked to have a certificate signed by their physician stating that they had visited the physician during the first three months of pregnancy. The certificate was then mailed to the Utah Department of Health which then sent a booklet of coupons to the mother. This booklet provided reduced prices on products for the pregnant mother or her newborn. This approach was used to help match the birth certificates to the patients as part of the outcome measurement of the overall program. The partnership also was successful in attracting private, public, and nonprofit agencies and having them work well together. Funding was obtained from a hefty increase in tax on packages of cigarettes. The money was then earmarked for the State Health Department for development and implementation of Baby Your Baby. The other previously mentioned partners donated a total of $2.25 million in contributions of cash or in-kind donations. The largest contributor was KUTV, which gave nearly $2 million worth of air time, most of it during prime viewing hours. Studies were undertaken to determine the most effective time to air public service announcements (PSAs). A toll-free, 1-800 telephone hotline was made available for calls about pregnancy or the program. The monitoring device was the number of calls received on the hotline. Most of the calls came during the 15 minutes after a PSA was aired and most of those calls came in the evening during prime time. KUTV also understood the value of repetition and had the PSAs on the air as many as 25 times a day. Four half-hour shows were also broadcast on various aspects of prenatal care and were shown right after "The Cosby Show," which was the most watched television show in America. The 1-800 Hotline proved to be a major contributor to the success of the Baby Your Baby program. It was staffed primarily by nonprofessional volunteers. There were trained medical personnel on standby in case any unusually technical questions were asked. Most of the questions had to do with administrative matters such as the location of the nearest facility which would see a patient in the program. The Results The Interim Summary of the "Baby Your Baby Program" written in April, 1991 gives detailed reports of the many positive and beneficial results obtained by this innovative program beginning in 1987. A few highlights may encourage the reader to read the report The number of Medicaid deliveries in Utah increased from 4,495 in 1987 to over 10,390 in 1991. This increase can be explained in part by federal legislative changes allowing for expansion of the Medicaid program. Beginning in 1986, the Sixth Omnibus Reconciliation Act (SOBRA) established optional Medicaid coverage for pregnant women which lived at 100% of the federal poverty level. The 1988 Federal Medicare Catastrophic Act mandated coverage for pregnant women who were at 100% of the federal poverty level, and the 1989 Omnibus Reconciliation Act (OBRA) required mandatory coverage for clients who were at 133% of the federal poverty level. The actual number of patients delivered exceeded the projections for an increasing client load. The infant death rate actually increased for a time in Utah, up to a rate of 9.6 deaths Utah's Health: An Annual Review 1993 119 |