Expanding hospital and community care to reduce pregnancy-related illness, deaths, and racial gaps
Official title: Scale-up Implementation Approaches to Reducing Pregnancy Related and Associated Morbidity and Mortality (PRAMM) and Disparities
Funded at Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences · NIH-11171433 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is rolling out proven care bundles in hospitals and community clinics to help pregnant and postpartum people—especially Black birthing people—have fewer serious health problems and deaths.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (East Lansing, United States) |
| Project start | August 17, 2023 |
| Project end | July 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $1,365,884 |
| NIH project number | 5U54HD113291-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11171433 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant and postpartum people who receive care at participating hospitals, clinics, or community programs—particularly Black birthing people and those with chronic conditions, mental health needs, or exposure to intimate partner violence.
✕Less likely to help
People who live outside the participating counties or do not receive care from partner clinics and hospitals may not see direct benefits from this project.
What this research studies
The team will implement evidence-based care bundles in hospitals and in community and outpatient settings and work to improve coordination between those settings. They will partner with stakeholders in two counties to learn from local implementation experiences and then develop a county-wide scale-up approach. Bundles target postpartum safety and wellness, maternal mental health, chronic conditions, and intimate partner violence, with an explicit focus on reducing racial disparities. Because most pregnancy-related deaths occur during pregnancy and after birth, the project emphasizes community and outpatient care as well as hospital care.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reduce pregnancy-related illness and deaths and narrow racial disparities in maternal outcomes.
How similar studies have gone: Hospital-focused maternal safety bundles have improved overall obstetric care but did not reduce disparities, so this community- and disparity-focused approach represents a newer effort to address that gap.
Where this research is happening
-
Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
East Lansing, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Johnson, Jennifer E — Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences
- Study coordinator: Johnson, Jennifer E
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Training program to reduce pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated morbidity and mortality disparities
A multi-year training program helps scientists and trainees build skills to study and reduce disparities in pregnancy-related health outcomes.
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Scale-up approach to reduce pregnancy-related harm and disparities
A national-scale plan to spread proven hospital and community care practices to reduce pregnancy-related harm and disparities, especially in outpatient and community settings.
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PRAMM: a patient-friendly digital program to reduce pregnancy-related morbidity
A digital program called PC-PRAMM uses a flexible app to screen pregnant people, share tailored guidance, and connect them to live help to reduce pregnancy-related complications.
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Multilevel, community-centered plan to reduce pregnancy-related illness and death and close disparities
A large, real-world trial will test a coordinated set of community and healthcare changes to reduce pregnancy complications and death, with a focus on Black, Hispanic, and Medicaid populations.
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Pregnancy and Heart Health: Predicting and Preventing Pregnancy-Related Cardiovascular Problems
A research grant is developing advanced data tools to identify pregnant women at high risk of heart-related complications so clinicians can prevent maternal death.
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Pregnancy Checkup app to lower pregnancy-related illness and deaths
This expands a pregnancy app to give pregnant people tailored risk screening, helpful content, and immediate live-chat support to connect them with services.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.