Telehealth policies to improve perinatal behavioral health care and reduce disparities
Official title: Impacts of Telehealth Policies on Disparities in Perinatal Behavioral Health Care Access and Outcomes
Funded at Rand Corporation · NIH-11360632 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This grant tests how telehealth policies can help pregnant and postpartum women get better behavioral health care and outcomes, especially in underserved groups.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Rand Corporation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Santa Monica, United States) |
| Project start | September 10, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $683,489 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH138475-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11360632 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Pregnant or postpartum women who experience behavioral health concerns and live in settings with telehealth access barriers (e.g., rural or low-income communities).
✕Less likely to help
Women without behavioral health needs or those in settings with adequate in-person access may see little direct benefit.
What this research studies
The project examines how telehealth policies affect access to behavioral health care for pregnant and postpartum women and whether disparities in care and outcomes improve. It uses implementation science frameworks to understand how telehealth can be integrated into perinatal care and reduce gaps in screening and treatment. The study builds on existing evidence that telebehavioral health is as effective as in-person care by focusing on policy and system-level factors that influence real-world use. By partnering with health systems, it aims to identify policy levers and scalable practices that can reach vulnerable populations.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could lead to policy changes and program designs that increase access to perinatal behavioral health care for underserved women.
How similar studies have gone: Prior evidence shows telehealth can improve access and has comparable effectiveness to in-person care, but perinatal-specific implementation remains underexplored.
Where this research is happening
-
Rand Corporation
Santa Monica, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Faherty, Laura Johnson — Rand Corporation
- Study coordinator: Faherty, Laura Johnson
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.