COMMUNITY REPORT A Life’s Course: The Load, The Impact
Background
Many factors contribute to infant and maternal mortality and, thankfully, UF Health offers numerous programs and initiatives to address these needs.
To add to these efforts, UF Health Jacksonville’s Urban Health Alliance - in collaboration with LaRae Brown, MD, MHA, FACOG, division chief of obstetrics and gynecology at UF Health North and medical director at UF Women’s Health Specialists – North and Wildlight, set out to address one factor that can negatively impact a pregnancy-stress. Particularly chronic stress, often known as “weathering,” which results from the cumulative effects of physiological, psychological and emotional stressors. These stressors often increase
MATERNAL MORTALITY
Rate per 100,000 Live Births, 3-Year Rolling Average
the risks of health conditions in women, such as high blood pressure, preeclampsia and preterm labor and other conditions.
This program, “Life’s Course: The Load, The Impact”, was developed to contribute to women’s knowledge of the signs and symptoms of toxic stress, empower them by sharing resources and tools to build resiliency, elevate them to come to together to recognize they aren’t alone, and help build a village of empathetic neighbors and health care professionals.
We invite you to join us in this journey. Read on to learn more about our progress.
Overview
UF Health Jacksonville developed and implemented “Life’s Course: The Load, The Impact,” a program focused on women of childbearing age, to increase awareness about chronic stress, its health impacts and strategies to minimize stress. The program aims to improve health outcomes and address health drivers through education and resource support. This report highlights activities since the program’s inception in September 2023.
Through Education, Empowerment and Elevation, we embarked on a journey to increase knowledge and awareness.
EDUCATION – Expanding knowledge and understanding of the impact of stress on women’s health.
EMPOWERMENT – Providing resources and tools to build resiliency.
ELEVATE – Lifting Up. Growing confidence. Achieving Balance.
One-on-One Connections
Effective communication is built on empathy and a deep understanding of a community’s lived experiences. With this in mind, UF Health Jacksonville recruited community health workers, or CHW, – trusted community members, many of whom had shared lived experiences with the women they supported. These CHW were trained to provide engagement and social support, playing a vital role in connecting community members to health and human services, including programs offered by the Urban Health Alliance.
Marketing Outreach
Initially, the approach focused on a light social media presence, paired with a heavy emphasis on radio advertising.
The approach shifted focus to social media engagement, based on survey responses from women attending forums who identified social media as a key source of information about the events.
Community Partners
Collaborative efforts were supported by several organizations that are established and trusted in the community:
▪ AGC The Fixer
▪ Emmanuel Project of Northeast Florida
▪ Family Foundation of Northeast Florida
▪ MommyTu
▪ The Lotus Flower Project
▪ Voice Institute
▪ Women’s Center of Jacksonville
Program Details
Locations
Events and Activities
▪ Forums – Raised awareness of the impact of chronic stress on women’s health. etc.; provided participants with tools to manage stress, emphasizing resiliency.
▪ Resiliency Activities – Invited women to join events focused on self-care practices, mindfulness and education on social needs. Creating a sense of community, many engaged in varied topics and sessions.
▪ Life's Course Wellness Programs – Expanded forums that included expert physicians and clinical, speakers, coupled with breakout sessions, for participants to select topics of interest for meaningful engagement.
The program were held at multiple locations throughout Jacksonville to maximize accessibility and engage participants from all parts of the community.
Community Centers
Faith Community
Health Clinics
Libraries
Lotus Flower Project
Schools/Daycare Centers
Tools
Resiliency Workshops were designed to celebrate and empower women. These workshops centered around resilience, stress management and motherhood, offering:
▪ Film Screening: A Department of Health (Ohio)produced film was showcased, highlighting the impact of stress on mental and physical health.
▪ Breakout Sessions: Attendees participated in small group sessions to discuss reactions to the film and personal experiences to foster self-empowerment and connection.
Sulzbacher Village
UF Health Jacksonville
UF Health North Women’s Center of Jacksonville YMCAs Other sites
▪ Panel Discussions: Experts, including physicians and other clinicians with a background in stress management and motherhood, led insightful panel discussions on navigating challenges.
The event provided a supportive space for participants to share experiences and deepen their understanding of wellness and coping skills, to help them develop a stronger sense of community and foster resilience.
Community forums successfully reached women through strategically placed events, including the impactful wellness programs. These initiatives provided valuable support and created meaningful connections for participants.
Program Reach
Community Health Workers Preparation
Fifteen CHW from across UF Health, including seven affiliated with A Life’s Course, received comprehensive training in health education, professional skills and effective communication. Training was facilitated by the University of Florida, UF Health Jacksonville and the Voices Institute, providing a well-rounded, holistic learning experience. Of those who participated, three have earned their state of Florida community health worker certification.
Additionally, 44.8% (681 respondents) expressed
Community Health Workers Reach
Community health workers canvassed neighborhoods in search of women interested in learning more about chronic stress and its impact on the maternal experience. Those initial encounters resuted in the following findings.
Training Results
▪ Pre-training test scores averaged 48%; post-training scores increased to 88%, demonstrating significant knowledge improvement.
CHW REACH
Strategy
LIFE’S COURSE CHW TRAINING
To achieve the goal of raising awareness about toxic stress and its impact on the lives of women and their babies, a communication strategy was developed, including the following actions:
• Designed: The campaign was launched using a mix of radio, CHW engagement and some social media to raise awareness about toxic stress, its causes, consequence and how to manage it.
• Disseminated: The program initially focused on radio reach and oneto-one interaction.
• Reassessed: Midway through the campaign, an evaluation of the communication plan revealed that social media was generating the highest reach and engagement, leading to an increased focus on that format.
Communication Milestones
program?
REACH
Reach and Impressions
Results
By engaging women in their communities, training CHW and implementing a strategic marketing approach, the program achieved impressive results. These efforts led to widespread community engagement-numerous events, comprehensive health screenings and strong participation, demonstrating a meaningful impact on community health and well-being.
Program Survey
It is essential we understand what is working well, what isn’t and how, if at all, we are influencing women’s knowledge and confidence around the topic of stress and how to manage it.
Over 98% of program attendees reported they strongly agreed or agreed that the information presented was useful and could be applied to their daily life. In addition, 96% of attendees would also recommend the forum to others in their community.
Results show that knowledge and perceptions of dealing with stress trended toward improvement by the end of the program.
I don’t know where to start when it comes to managing my sress (% Agree)
By the end of the program, acknowledgment of what actions to take to manage stress only increased slightly. While disappointing, we recognize mitigating stress requires more than one educational session on the topic. It requires longitudinal investments and repeated interaction to reinforce knowledge, skills and abilities. Moreover, the response to this question was impacted by the fact that attendees didn’t have sufficient resources to practice stress-relieving activities, a situation being remedied in the 2025 phase of the program.
The program’s impact on stress management perceptions varied by age. At the start, women ages 30-39 were more likely to strongly agree that they “don’t know where to start when it comes to managing stress” , compared with women ages 20-29 or 40-49. This highlights a difference in stress management awareness and knowledge among different age groups at the beginning of the program.
Healthy relationships can help cope with stress (% Agree)
I have healthy ways to manage my stress (% Agree)
Stress is something I have to live with (% Agree)
Summary and Appreciation
Final note
A Life’s Course program not only provides tools and knowledge, it also provides data and program ideas to enhance strategies to positively support the preconception health of women across our community.
In collaboration with our community, we invest time to assess, test and refine our approach, to ensure satisfaction, improved knowledge and other factors through a variety of surveys engagements.
We look forward to expanding knowledge and resources among the women who participated in the program.
We look forward tto continuing to support the health and well-being of women across our community.
We would like to extend our appreciation to our program funders, program partners and, of course, the women who opened their hearts to us throughout the program.
Hi! I just wanted to say thank you for everything you do. I attended the March workshop, and although I knew about the risks of Black maternal health, I never thought it would happen to me since I’m good at self-advocacy. I’d been having a migraine, cramping and fatigue, and was told it was normal in pregnancy. No tests were run, just advice to drink more water. However, something didn’t feel right. Over the next few days, I noticed my blood pressure rising, which had always been low. I sought care at another hospital, where a urinalysis revealed early-stage preeclampsia. Thanks to the workshop and the blood pressure cuff, this was caught early, and I’m managing my symptoms now. I truly appreciate your help!
Signed, Program Participant
