Abstract
Background: In 2009, Baltimore City had one of the worst infant mortality rates in the country: 13.5 deaths per 1,000 live births. Black babies were five times more likely to die than white babies (Baltimore City Health Department, n.d.). In response to this public health crisis, government, nonprofit, academic, and corporate leaders launched B’More for Healthy Babies to address the social, economic, and racial inequities that affected infant health (Baltimore City Health Department, n.d.). Purpose: The purpose was to describe how the B’More For Healthy Babies (BHB) initiative partnered with two neighborhoods in Baltimore City, Maryland, local community-based programs, and funders to create a successful and sustainable program that helped improve birth outcomes and grow community involvement. Literature Review: Community-based initiatives can have far-reaching impacts. They can positively change the community and serve as catalysts for similar initiatives in other places. Research Design: A qualitative instrumental case study was used to highlight the characteristics of the BHB project that helped make it successful. Setting/Sample: The sampling strategy for this project was a nonrandom purposive sampling of leaders, partners, and participants in Baltimore City. Findings: The themes that emerged that have made BHB successful are understanding the needs of the community/participants, collaboration/shared vision, invested funders, and long-term leadership. Recommendations: Develop a coaching and education program based on the findings that other leaders in other communities can use to replicate the success of BHB for their community change initiatives.