How neonatal hospital networks affect outcomes for very low birth weight babies
Measuring Neonatal Regionalization
This project looks at how the organization of neonatal hospitals affects health outcomes for very low birth weight babies in the United States.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Stanford University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Stanford, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11284042 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
If your baby is born very low birth weight, this project will use linked health records from 2010–2020 for over 290,000 infants cared for in about 520 NICUs to understand how hospitals are connected and how that affects outcomes. Researchers will combine vital records and hospital discharge data from 17 states to track where babies were born, whether they were transferred, and their health results. They will apply network analysis to map and measure regional care patterns and to identify which network features relate to survival and complications. This is a large observational study using existing patient records and does not change care for any individual baby.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: The analysis focuses on very low birth weight infants (birth weight <1500 g) cared for in participating NICUs and included in the 2010–2020 linked datasets from the 17 states.
Not a fit: Babies born outside the included states, outside the 2010–2020 time window, or with birth weights ≥1500 g would not be represented and therefore would be unlikely to directly benefit from the study findings.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could guide better organization of regional neonatal care to reduce harmful transfers and improve survival and long-term outcomes for very low birth weight infants.
How similar studies have performed: Smaller and regional studies have linked postnatal transfers and certain network features to worse outcomes, but this near-population-scale network analysis using linked state datasets is novel.
Where this research is happening
Stanford, United States
- Stanford University — Stanford, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Profit, Jochen — Stanford University
- Study coordinator: Profit, Jochen
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 below.