Abstract

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is not a new or rare problem; it has likely always been a leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality and clocks in today as the most frequently occurring birth defect, affecting an estimated 1 in 100 newborns (CDC, 2025). Prior to the middle of the 20th century, there was little to be done about CHD, as no treatments existed. Everything changed with the advancement of options for surgical repair of CHDs, significantly prolonging lifespans and improving quality of life for affected individuals. Despite these incredible advancements, babies are born with CHD every day, leading to a higher healthcare burden and increased stress on families. While causal relationships have been established for some birth defects such as neural tube defects, the cause of CHD remains largely elusive. Research suggests that CHD develops when multiple factors align, such as maternal exposures to substances and toxins, environmental factors, and comorbid conditions, among other things (Boyd, 2022). Data collection on CHD in the US is complicated by the fact that each state and territory is left to determine its own individual screening and tracking system for birth defects (NBDPN, 2024). This policy paper explores the history of CHD screening and tracking programs in the United States, with a focus on how specific conditions in New Mexico interplay with healthcare delivery for patients with CHD. In the context of the Political Systems Theory (Anyebe, 2018) and using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Polaris Model (CDC, 2024) for policy analysis, this paper will suggest ways in which current practices could be amended to move beyond tracking alone to better serve the CHD community and other individuals with birth defects in New Mexico.

Language

English

Document Type

Capstone

Degree Name

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

Level of Degree

Doctoral

First Committee Member

Heidi Honegger Rogers

Second Committee Member

Roberta Lavin

Third Committee Member

Tamara Shannon

Keywords

Congenital heart disease; birth defects; health policy; New Mexico; birth defect surveillance; Polaris Model; Political Systems Theory; screening programs; multifactorial etiology; public health

Additional Files
DNP Proj Poster Presentation KCL.pdf (2356 kB)
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