DATA

HHS Tackles Maternal Health Crisis with Technology and Data

The agency supports 16 research centers to improve maternal health across the country.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is developing technology and data standards to address rising maternal mortality rates nationwide as part of a larger government-wide effort to curb disparities. Created a new initiative to modernize. In healthcare.

The U.S. had its highest maternal mortality rate in 2021, with deaths increasing 40% from the previous year, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Against this backdrop, the Biden-Harris administration released the White House Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal and Child Health Crisis, which outlines opportunities for technology to make a difference. This blueprint outlines her five priorities for improving maternal care.

  • Expand access to and coverage of comprehensive, high-quality maternal health services.

  • We ensure that birthing people’s voices are heard and that they are responsible decision-makers in the care system.

  • Advancing data collection, standardization, transparency, research, and analysis.

  • Expand and diversify the perinatal workforce.

  • Strengthen economic and social support for people before, during and after pregnancy.

With these goals in mind, HRSA has committed $90 million to initiatives such as establishing 16 maternal and child health research centers within institutions serving ethnic minorities.

“We will expand access to maternal care, expand the maternal care workforce, support mothers experiencing maternal depression, and provide essential support for safe pregnancies,” said HRSA Secretary Carol Johnson. “We are focused on reversing this crisis by addressing critical social support.” Statement of September 27th.

More than $24 million has been committed to establishing a “task force focused on innovation and implementation of strategies to improve the delivery of maternal health services.” In addition, HHS is putting his $10 million toward data collection and “establishing a new research network” for data analysis and innovation.

The agency is providing funding to establish four research centers across Texas, and the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine received more than $2 million to open its first maternal and child health research center.

Dr. Candice Robredo, an associate professor in the UTRGV School of Medicine and principal investigator on the grant, said the university is working to find funding for maternal health programs.

“We’re really excited to be able to build that research capacity here. And, of course, the question of how can we improve the skills of community health workers to provide low-integration behavioral health services to women in the community?” So we’re going to generate science on how to do that effectively,” Robredo told GovCIO Media & Research.

Over the next five years, each center will work to launch programs that address specific maternal health needs in their communities. The center’s primary goal is to make maternal health more equitable across the community. Technology will be the driving factor.

“From our perspective, we’re going to develop curriculum, we’re going to develop intervention programs, we’re going to find ways to utilize technology to disseminate information. I think that’s going to be a big link in the future,” Robredo said. Told.


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