Improving access to top-level newborn intensive care for very-small babies
Official title: Reducing Disparities in Access to High-level Neonatal Intensive Care and Neonatal Outcomes
Funded at Children's Hosp of Philadelphia · NIH-11321146 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how state and hospital transfer rules for high-risk moms and babies affect where very-low-birth-weight infants are born and their health, especially for racial and ethnic groups with worse outcomes.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Children's Hosp of Philadelphia NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Philadelphia, United States) |
| Project start | April 15, 2025 |
| Project end | January 31, 2030 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $716,916 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD116782-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11321146 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
The work is most relevant to pregnant people at high risk for preterm or very-low-birth-weight delivery and families of VLBW infants who deliver in U.S. hospitals.
✕Less likely to help
Full-term, low-risk pregnancies and infants not requiring NICU-level care are unlikely to see direct benefit from the policy changes studied.
What this research studies
From your point of view as a parent or patient, this project examines whether laws and hospital policies that move high-risk pregnant people and newborns to hospitals with high-level NICUs change where very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) babies are delivered and how well they do after birth. The team will combine large U.S. birth, hospital, and outcome datasets and use a behavioral model to understand how state policy details, hospital characteristics, and patient factors interact. They will compare outcomes like neonatal mortality and major complications across different policy environments and racial/ethnic groups. The goal is to identify which policy elements lead to more babies delivering at high-level NICUs and to smaller racial disparities in newborn outcomes.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could guide policy changes so more high-risk mothers and VLBW babies reach hospitals with top NICUs, reducing deaths and serious complications and narrowing racial/ethnic gaps.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research shows babies born at high-level NICUs have better outcomes, but connecting specific transfer policy elements to racial/ethnic disparities in where babies deliver and to outcomes is largely new.
Where this research is happening
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Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
Philadelphia, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lorch, Scott a — Children's Hosp of Philadelphia
- Study coordinator: Lorch, Scott a
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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.