The Riley County Public Health Department and partners tailored MCH services to be culturally competent and meet the needs of Spanish-speaking community members. Adaptations to services were intended to make communications more understandable and culturally relevant to the community’s needs. For all services, the team attempted to remove barriers to participation; for instance, by implementing new policies to address transportation barriers and to schedule services at a time convenient to participants. The team provided prenatal education and resources in Spanish. In the sessions, the team used the Spanish version of the March of Dimes “Becoming a Mom” curriculum, known in Spanish as “Comenzando Bien”. These sessions provided hands on learning about having a healthy pregnancy and baby. The Riley County team attempted to reach more families by translating all pertinent RCHD communications in Spanish, via Facebook, voice mail, texting and fliers.
[Source: Final Report of Riley County’s MCH Opportunity Project, 2019-2020.]