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May is Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month, and May 2nd is the 11th annual National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.

Did you know that approximately 400,000 U.S. teen girls ages 15-19 will give birth each year? That accounts for approximately 1,100 births every day! Of the teens that give birth before age 18, only 50% will graduate high school, and more than 98% will not have earned a college degree by age 30. Also, children born of teen mothers are nine times more likely to grow up in poverty and two times more likely to suffer abuse and/or neglect.

While the above statistics are startling and very concerning, another impact of teen pregnancy is the cost to Michigan taxpayers for children born to teen mothers. In 2008, the estimated cost is $308 million which includes millions of dollars for public health care, child welfare and incarceration. Also, millions of tax revenue is lost due to decreased earnings and spending.

The Michigan Department of Community Health has a Michigan Teen Pregnancy Prevention Initiative which provides information for teens and parents, as well as a provider toolkit. Click here to access this state initiative website for these helpful tools. Also, MDCH and the Michigan Department of Education are hosting a conference in August in Grand Rapids, Moving Toward Solutions: Addressing Teen Pregnancy Prevention in Michigan. You may access the conference information here.

MQIC released the Prevention of Pregnancy in Adolescents 12-17 years clinical practice guideline in May 2010. Please refer to the guideline for recommendations along with questions you may use for engaging patients and parents/guardians in dialogue.By encouraging open dialogue between patients and their parents, an even stronger foundation is built for helping them choose to avoid pregnancy.

The month of May is also celebrated as National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month.

The National Osteoporosis Foundation provides these statistics:

• 80% of those affected with osteoporosis are women, 20% of men are affected
• 85% of adult bone mass is acquired by girls at age 18, and boys at age 20
• There is an estimated 10 million Americans with osteoporosis
• There is an estimated 34 million Americans with low bone mass
• By 2025, it is estimated that $25 billion will be spent on osteoporosis related fractures
• 24% of hip fracture patients age 50 and older die in the first year following their fracture

MQIC released the updated Management and Prevention of Osteoporosis clinical practice guideline in January 2012. An important tool that was added to the guideline is the World Health Organization (WHO) Fracture Risk Assessment Tool (FRAX) which evaluates a person’s 10-year probability of fracture. MQIC medical directors recommend that this tool be used in order to evaluate the risk and determine the need for BMD testing. Other guideline recommendations include principles of treatment and prevention, and therapies used in order to reduce the high risk of osteoporotic fractures.

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Our Mission

The Michigan Quality Improvement Consortium will establish and implement a core set of clinical practice guidelines and performance measures. The interventions designed and implemented by each plan to improve consistent delivery of services will be at the discretion of individual plans, but guidelines, performance goals, measurement methodology, and performance reporting will be standardized.

Participants

MQIC membership is diverse and includes physicians, health plan administrators, researchers, quality improvement experts, and specialty societies. The consortium recognizes the need to collaborate with other entities and experts to successfully achieve the consortium's vision.