Understanding how some Amish communities maintain high birth rates in modern times
Official title: Understanding fertility trends in a cohesive high-fertility population within a low-fertility environment
Funded at Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr · NIH-11616946 · Data updated 2026-11-12
A project will build a large, time-sensitive dataset to understand why Amish families keep having many children, even as broader society has much lower birth rates.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hershey, United States) |
| Project start | September 15, 2024 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $248,980 |
| NIH project number | 4R00HD111665-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11616946 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates are Amish or similar high-fertility population members and researchers collaborating with community partners.
✕Less likely to help
Individuals outside high-fertility communities may not directly benefit from these findings.
What this research studies
This project focuses on Amish and similar communities in Western populations to explore why birth rates remain high. Researchers will create a comprehensive, population-wide dataset that tracks births over time and across households. The goal is to identify factors like occupation, religion, and family status that influence birth patterns, using robust demographic analyses. The findings could help communities and healthcare providers better understand family planning needs and social dynamics within these groups.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could inform culturally appropriate health guidance and social services for families in high-fertility communities.
How similar studies have gone: Past studies have offered clues but have not fully explained the wide birth rate variation; this project aims to provide a more definitive, continent-wide view.
Where this research is happening
-
Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
Hershey, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Anderson, Cory — Pennsylvania State Univ Hershey Med Ctr
- Study coordinator: Anderson, Cory
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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.