UTRGV Maternal Health Research Center

Texas has the highest maternal mortality rate in the developed world and since 2006 has experienced an 87% increase in maternal deaths. Place-based stressors such as poverty and/or poor housing along with structural determinants work synergistically to influence maternal and reproductive health and these varying riskscapes are important drivers of health disparities in our region. Pregnancy and the postpartum windows are critical life transitions for women that can be leveraged to prevent maternal health disparities. Solutions in South Texas will require a multilevel approach to address multiple domains of health and are unlikely to be addressed in clinical settings alone.

Goals and objectives:

The goals and objectives during the 5-year performance period are to establish the UTRGV Maternal Health Research Center (MHRC) and meet the following goals and objectives. Goal 1: Plan and implement maternal health research studies to inform relevant culturally appropriate and peer led interventions to address health disparities in our region and beyond to describe the needs of Hispanic women that are pregnant or within 12 months of delivery. Goal 2: Increase the capacity for maternal health disparity research at UTRGV by using principles of community engagement to maximize the participation of marginalized and underrepresented groups in our region form a community advisory committee to inform activities of UTRGV maternal research health center mentor early career investigators and submit at least one grant application by the end of the performance period to secure funding external to HRSA. Goal 3: Develop manuscripts to be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. The UTRGV MHRC will maintain a list of proposed manuscripts summarizing original research and prepare and submit at least one manuscript in year 1 and 2-3 manuscripts in years 2-5. UTRGV MHRC will develop a data sharing agreement to facilitate collaboration and data sharing. Goal 4: Disseminate and translate research findings into practice by developing resources to support the training and supervision of community health workers providing evidence-based low level behavioral health care in community settings. METHODS: We will conduct community engaged research to generate an evidence-based standardized approach to upskilling CHWs to provide low level psychosocial and behavioral care in mental health shortage areas. The NIMHD Research Disparities Framework will be used to design interventions and research studies that address various domains of influence to address complex health disparities in Hispanic women. Our research studies will employ a mixed methods approach to obtain insights and identify trends that can inform policies healthcare interventions and support services targeting Hispanic women.

Products:

The UTRGV MHRC will develop resources to support the training and supervision of community health workers providing evidence-based low level behavioral health care in community settings bilingual and certified community health worker curriculum to upskill CHWs in delivering integrated behavioral health in community settings an outline of adaptations made to IBHC toolkits and resources utilized to serve Hispanic and underserved communities to address disparities in maternal morbidity and mortality.

Evaluation:

UTRGV MHRC will adopt the Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health to plan and guide our programatic activities