NIH funds maternal health work at UAMS
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An $11.7 million federal grant to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences is going to pay for maternal and reproductive health research.
Why it matters: Arkansas has some of the worst maternal health outcomes in the country, including high rates of pregnancy- and postpartum-related deaths and infant mortality.
- The research will in part focus on how to deliver evidence-based interventions to people in rural areas and people of lower socioeconomic status, Pearl McElfish, UAMS Institute for Community Health Innovation director, told Axios.
The intrigue: Much of the research will focus on how to implement best practices, as there are already many known solutions to improve maternal health that aren't being widely used.
- One of the first studies will look at why only about 10% of health care providers in Arkansas are screening pregnant patients for depression and how to get more providers to take up the practice, McElfish said.
- Pregnant people can be uniquely at risk of depression because of factors such as poor social support or stress, according to the Mayo Clinic, and untreated depression during pregnancy can make it more difficult for them to care for themselves and increases the likelihood of postpartum depression.
How it works: The five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health's Center of Biomedical Research Excellence will help hire at least three new researchers each year, fund pilot projects and pay for infrastructure. It'll establish the Maternal and Reproductive Community Health Excellence research center at the Institute for Community Health Innovation in Springdale, although the work will be statewide.
- Intensive mentorship will be embedded in the center, as "we need to train up our own researchers who understand Arkansas," McElfish said.
State of play: UAMS announced the award last week. Besides the depression screening study, the other two of the three initially approved studies began earlier this month. One is aimed at addressing and reducing opioid use, and one is focused on remote monitoring for gestational diabetes.
Zoom out: The research will not be limited to people who are already pregnant or postpartum. It could also address contraception, infertility and menopause.
- "We want women to become pregnant when they want to, and we want women to be healthy," McElfish said.
What's next: The project also includes a maternal and reproductive health conference in spring 2026 with researchers from across the country, according to a news release. The release did not state specific dates or a location.