Implementing a Maternal health & PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative 2023 Awardee Workshop

March 9, 2023 (Noon-5 p.m.)

Sponsor/Co-Sponsor

NICHD; Office of Research on Women’s Health (ORWH), Office of the Director, NIH; National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), NIH

Location

NIH VideoCast; registration is free but required

Purpose

IMPROVE is an NIH-wide initiative led by NICHD, ORWH, and NINR, with participation from multiple NIH institutes, centers, and offices, that was established in response to the rising U.S. rates of pregnancy-related deaths. This multipronged, innovative research effort is designed to address maternal mortality and morbidity, including severe maternal morbidity, and improve maternal health before, during, and after pregnancy. IMPROVE includes a special focus on health disparities and populations disproportionately affected, such as African Americans, American Indians/Alaska Natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics/Latinas, very young women and women of advanced maternal age, and people with disabilities.

In fiscal years (FY) 2020 and 2021, NIH awarded more than $20 million to support 58 IMPROVE projects aimed at rapidly improving our understanding of and mitigation strategies for the leading causes of pregnancy-related and pregnancy-associated mortality and morbidity.

This workshop brings together researchers and clinicians supported by the FY 2020 and FY 2021 NIH IMPROVE funding to share their work, progress to date, and insights resulting from their research. Participants will:

Share research results and lessons learned from IMPROVE projects
Identify common themes and highlight shared research gaps and opportunities that can complement ongoing disease-specific work across NIH and collaborating organizations
Further define the needs of pregnant and postpartum individuals to reduce preventable causes of morbidity and mortality

Individuals with disabilities who need reasonable accommodation to participate in this event should contact Monica Barnette at mbarnette@bizzellus.com or 301-459-0100.