Improving Reproductive and Preconception Health for Women with Chronic Conditions
Maternal morbidity and mortality in the U.S. are worsening, especially among Black and Native American populations. One important preventive strategy is assuring the reproductive health and well-being of women living with chronic conditions. Preconception and reproductive care can help improve women’s health and maternal and infant health outcomes for those who wish to become a parent. There are serious gaps in research about who should deliver this care as well as how and when, particularly for Black and Native American women who bear a disproportionate risk for health disparity.
Project Objectives: We aimed to 1) Increase understanding about how Black and Native American women with chronic conditions think about their reproductive health decision-making and ways to optimize their health prior to conception; 2) Identify patient-centered, patient-designed strategies to identify testable and sustainable preconception and reproductive health practices; and 3) Set building blocks in place to support future collaborative action to drive the research roadmap forward.
Activities: We engaged 34 Black and Native American reproductive age women with one or more chronic conditions as patient stakeholders to help us understand their recommendations and priorities about how to best implement preconception care/reproductive wellness. We convened a 10-15 person provider/researcher stakeholder group, seeking their input and ultimately brought both groups together for collective conversation and idea sharing.
Project Collaborators: This is a partnership between the School of Medicine, the School of Social Work, Healthy Start Pembroke, the American Indian Center, and a variety of faculty and clinicians across North Carolina.
Project Team: Dr. Rachel Urrutia-Peragallo and Dr. Sarah Verbiest are the Co-Principal Investigators. Dr. Kristin Tully, Dr. Crystal Cene and Katherine Bryant are Co-Investigators. Erica Little, Melissa Richardson, Shaunette Howard, Erica Chambers, and Qua Lynch Adkins are Community Co-Investigators. Marina Pearsall is the Project Manager focusing on the patient stakeholders.
Timeline: This was a one-year project that began January 1, 2021 and ends on December 31, 2021. The total amount of the award is $100,000 with the majority of the funds being used to support patient stakeholder time and engagement.
Results:
Focus Group Themes: Click to watch video discussing the findings and outputs from the focus group meetings.
Here is a link to our published paper about our work – Listening to patients: Opportunities to improve reproductive wellness for women with chronic conditions.
Here is a link to a webinar organized by the Maternal Health Learning and Innovation Center about our study – Reproductive wellness for women with chronic conditions.
Funder: This project is funded through at Patient-Centered outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) Eugene Washington PCORI Engagement Award (EAIN-20209).
Interested in learning more about research? PCORI has a series of great materials. Click here to view PCORI’s Research Fundamentals Videos and Frequently Asked Questions and here for their interactive PDF. Click here to read a blog about the Eight Principles of Patient-Centered Care.