Mapping Broadband and Maternal Health Webinar

The Federal Communications Commission’s Connect2HealthFCC Task Force will host a virtual webinar to demonstrate the newly updated Mapping Broadband Health in America platform incorporating maternal health data. The platform is designed to help drive innovative broadband-enabled solutions such as telehealth in areas impacted by poor maternal health outcomes, including higher maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity. Increasingly, broadband connectivity is recognized as an essential component to improving health, access to health care, and health equity, yet organizations and policymakers often need shared information on where gaps and opportunities exist to help them effectively leverage broadband to improve maternal health.

This virtual webinar will explore how the platform can be used to generate actionable insights and provide an opportunity for users to inform further development of this important tool. Participants will learn how to generate customized maps and visualize the intersection of broadband connectivity and maternal health data. Specifically, the public can use this platform to:

• Intersect broadband data and maternal mortality or severe maternal morbidity rates at the state level;
• Determine how connectivity and access to obstetric care coincide at the county level, revealing “double burden” counties (i.e., those with higher health need and lower connectivity resources);
• View connectivity metrics (e.g., Internet adoption, download speed) and maternal health data filtered by rurality, race/ethnicity, and maternal age to visualize patterns, possible disparities, and areas where broadband-enabled interventions could create the greatest impact; and
• Visualize the intersection of broadband and mental health provider shortages, given the association between mental health and poor maternal health outcomes.