NIH grant covers $13 million over six years
Faculty from the University of Pittsburgh Schools of Public Health and Medicine are leading a new effort to develop and evaluate innovative approaches to promote maternal health equity and reduce pregnancy-related complications and death.
Funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Pitt’s new Equity in Maternal and Birthing Outcomes and Reproductive Health through Community Engagement (EMBRACE) Center will support a community-academic partnership to advance maternal and reproductive health and justice among Black people in Allegheny County.
Coprincipal investigators for the site are Dara D. Méndez, PhD, MPH, associate professor of epidemiology, School of Public Health; Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Rheumatology; and Hyagriv Simhan, MD, MS, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, both from the School of Medicine.
“We are thrilled to build upon ongoing maternal and reproductive health equity and justice research and initiatives in the Pittsburgh region by launching EMBRACE,” said Mendez, who is also associate director of the Center for Health Equity at the School of Public Health. “Black communities disproportionately experience adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, particularly in our region; and it is critical that we center those same communities in our work.”
The EMBRACE Center’s focus is maternal health equity and reproductive justice, which will:
- Expand an existing healthy system model of inter-conception clinical care called IMPLICIT, instituted at UPMC Family Medicine clinics. The expansion will include 4th trimester care—the early postpartum period that is associated with a higher risk of adverse physical and mental health outcomes; coupled with training of staff and clinicians in reproductive equity and justice.
- Integrate collaborative partnerships with community leaders focused on codeveloping actionable strategies and interventions at the individual, health system and structural levels to enhance the health and well-being of Black birthing individuals.
- Develop and execute training and professional development in anti-oppression and reproductive health equity and justice for community-partnered reproductive and perinatal health researchers, and the maternal health workforce as well as academic and community-based trainees.
“Through the EMBRACE Center, we expect to support the longstanding efforts of leaders in our community as well as build capacity to develop sustainable approaches and interventions to promote maternal and reproductive health equity and justice and advance health and well-being for Black populations,” said Birru Talabi.
“EMBRACE will not only advance and disseminate knowledge in this crucial area, but lead to direct translation to clinical care paradigms, community engagement, and workforce development,” added Simhan.
EMBRACE includes a network of faculty, staff and students across the Schools of Public Health, Medicine and Nursing in the Health Sciences; the Department of Health and Human Development in the School of Education; the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and the University Center for Social and Urban Research. EMBRACE also includes numerous community or public organizations such as Healthy Start Pittsburgh, Journey Lighter, the Allegheny County Health Department, The Midwife Center, Allegheny Reproductive Health Center, The Black Women’s Policy Center, and Yogamotif. The EMBRACE Center plans to extend collaborations with New Voices for Reproductive Justice and the PA Black Maternal Health Caucus. The center is also part of the National Institutes of Health’s Implementing a Maternal Health and Pregnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative.
“Pitt Public Health is committed to addressing Pittsburgh’s high Black maternal mortality rate and other preventable adverse health challenges affecting vulnerable populations, including transgender youth, Latinx communities and people with disabilities,” said Dean Maureen Lichtveld, MD, MPH. “This new center will help us counter the impact of these disparities.”
-Michele Baum