This legislation seeks to significantly enhance stillbirth research and data collection across the United States. It authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States for conducting stillbirth surveillance, collecting comprehensive data, and building public health capacity to assess this critical information. These grants will also support the collection and reporting of data on stillbirth risk factors, with a strict condition that all collected data must be deidentified to protect patient privacy. Furthermore, the bill mandates the Secretary to issue guidelines for State departments of health and vital statistics units. These guidelines will focus on improving processes for collecting stillbirth data from healthcare providers, including clinical history and pathology, and ensuring standardization and completeness in reporting. The Secretary is also directed to develop and make publicly available educational awareness materials on stillbirths, consulting with a wide range of experts and affected individuals to ensure comprehensive and sensitive content. Finally, the legislation requires the Secretary to publish a public report within five years of enactment, consolidating these educational guidelines and risk factor information.
This legislation seeks to significantly enhance stillbirth research and data collection across the United States. It authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States for conducting stillbirth surveillance, collecting comprehensive data, and building public health capacity to assess this critical information. These grants will also support the collection and reporting of data on stillbirth risk factors, with a strict condition that all collected data must be deidentified to protect patient privacy. Furthermore, the bill mandates the Secretary to issue guidelines for State departments of health and vital statistics units. These guidelines will focus on improving processes for collecting stillbirth data from healthcare providers, including clinical history and pathology, and ensuring standardization and completeness in reporting. The Secretary is also directed to develop and make publicly available educational awareness materials on stillbirths, consulting with a wide range of experts and affected individuals to ensure comprehensive and sensitive content. Finally, the legislation requires the Secretary to publish a public report within five years of enactment, consolidating these educational guidelines and risk factor information.