Black and Hispanic infants born in Connecticut have some of the highest mortality rates in the country, while white babies born in the state have among the lowest.
The children’s advocacy group Connecticut Voices for Children wants to figure out a way to address this disparity.
Karen Siegel, who is with the organization, says one way to figure out how to close the gap is to collect data that includes race.
“So for instance, billing codes often lack demographic data, like race and ethnicity fields. But, they can be matched to enrollment or vital statistics data to allow us to view them along disparity lines.”
Siegel says Connecticut Voices for Children is working with lawmakers to introduce a bill that would require medical personnel and community health workers to be trained to collect data.