HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Kappa's Comprehensive Initiative Key For African American Prosperity
by Galen Robinson
T hree African American babies each week die in Ohio as a result of unsafe sleep practices and environments. Our African American babies are dying at disproportionately higher rates from all causes including sleep related infant deaths. It is imperative that all stakeholders in Ohio’s communities hear the infant safe sleep message. More importantly, these deaths are preventable. Statistics indicate that infant mortality rate in Ohio show 7.33 per 1,000 live births which ranks near the bottom of the country placing Ohio at #45. Specifically, within Ohio, the Caucasian infant mortality rate is 6.07 while the black infant mortality rate over twice the Caucasian rate at 13.63. This begs for a change in how African American families care for their newborns. Fatherhood Matters “A father can significantly benefit their children’s development, academic achievement, and overall well- being. Research suggest that a father’s involvement before his child is born can play an important part during the first year of life…particularly if the child is black.” says Nathaniel Jordan, Executive Director of the Columbus Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi’s Fatherhood Matters Program. This is a multifaceted program that focuses on mentoring (Kappa League); the Nurturing Fathers Program, which is a 13-week training program consisting of working with 10-16 young fathers to improve their parenting skills in: fathering, playing, and conflict/anger management; and Heathy Kappas/Healthy Communities (HK/HC), an initiative to ensure that Kappas, their families and their communities receive vital health screenings. Nearly all sleep related infant deaths are preventable and Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. is committed to lowering the number of these deaths through educational outreach in the Ohio’s African American communities. To support this national initiative, Kappa Alpha Psi Chapters around the state of Ohio will conduct 20 community health forums in conjunction with the SID (Sudden Infant Death) Network of Ohio. The goal of the educational outreach is an effort to improve the birth outcomes for all The Safe Sleep Initiative
Ohio residents while specifically lowering the number of SID deaths among African American children in the state. The Columbus Alumni Chapter will collaborate with the East Central Province of Kappa Alpha Psi, the regional governing body, to coordinate efforts throughout the state. The fraternity will focus on engaging specific chapters in the High-Risk Infant Mortality Hot Zones. These chapters include Dayton, Akron, Youngstown, Cleveland and the Toledo Alumni chapters. The 20 forums will be conducted in areas where the disparity of infant mortality among African Americans is the highest. This collaborative will strive to inform the community on the disparate statistics and the impact infant mortality has on the nation, state and their community has a whole. This collaborative initiative is operating on the premise that in order for a person to effect changes, one must first be well educated and informed that there is something that needs to be changed. If parents are aware of the dangers posed to their children, they may act accordingly to protect the defenseless. One direct strategy to increase the awareness of the negative effects of infant mortality is having on Columbus’s African American population is by providing young African American men who are parents an opportunity to engage with other African American men who are successful parents in the targeted areas. A dialogue will be encouraged by community leadership around this issue to empower a neighborhood of individual parents to save the lives of their babies one by one. “Community service is part of the bedrock of the fraternity. Giving back to our community and doing all we can do to effect positive change is the fuel that drives us. Being a ‘Christian based’ organization we always want to do what we believe would be acceptable and pleasing in God’s eyes.” says Philip Shotwell, Polemarch Columbus (OH) Alumni Chapter.”
Initial effort: The ABCs of Safe Sleep
To combat these disturbing statistics the members of the Columbus Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity were joined by the Columbus Kappa Foundation, Molina Healthcare, AETNA, Buckeye Health, and CareSource,
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