# Wireless Physiologic Monitoring in Postpartum Women in rural Uganda

> **NIH NIH K23** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $172,800

## Abstract

Project Summary
Background: Women in sub-Saharan Africa have the highest rates of morbidity and mortality during childbirth.
Despite significant increases in facility-based childbirth, quality gaps at the facility have limited reductions in
maternal deaths. Infrequent monitoring of women around childbirth is a major gap in care that leads to delays in
life-saving interventions. Simple increases in staffing will not overcome this gap, thus necessitating new
strategies. Wireless physiologic monitoring has been shown to be feasible in resource-limited settings; I
hypothesize that this innovative approach to physiologic monitoring will facilitate early clinical detection of
critically ill women in the first 24 hours after childbirth, thus providing the opportunity for disability-averting and
lifesaving interventions. Candidate: My career goal as an academic obstetrician-gynecologist (OB/GYN) is to
become an independent R01-level investigator with expertise in developing, testing, and implementing innovative
strategies to improve maternal and newborn outcomes during facility-based childbirth in resource-limited
settings. My goals are motivated by early experiences during my upbringing in Ghana and Zambia, and
strengthened from clinical experience as a trainee and junior faculty in Ghana and Zambia. My background,
training in OB/GYN, early research track record with 8 first-author publications, and successful pilot and
prospective work in Uganda make me well-poised to undertake the proposed research and training.
Training/Mentoring: To achieve my career goal, I require further training in clinical trial design, implementation
science and qualitative methods. I will be supported with a team of experts led by Dr. Haberer (primary mentor),
an NIH-funded investigator with extensive mentoring experience, protected time through a K-24, and an
acclaimed portfolio of research in resource-limited settings. Drs. Wylie (OB/GYN, clinical trials), Metlay
(implementation science), Psaros (qualitative methods) and Ngonzi (OB/GYN, Uganda site) will provide
additional mentorship in my training aims. Research: Using a hybrid clinical effectiveness-implementation
approach I will enroll 530 women delivered by cesarean to wear a wireless physiologic monitor for 24 hours after
delivery. Their delivering obstetricians will be recruited to use the monitoring system, including the receipt of text
message alerts should women develop abnormalities in physiologic signs. I will measure rates of morbidity and
mortality and compare these with a control group of women delivered by the same obstetricians. I will use the
RE-AIM implementation science framework to assess clinical adoption. I will perform semi-structured interviews
with postpartum women and obstetricians to understand acceptability and explore facilitators and barriers to use
of a wireless physiologic system in a resource-limited setting. My comprehensive training program, supported
by a strong team of mentors, and combi...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10459293
- **Project number:** 5K23HD097300-05
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Adeline Adwoa Boatin
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $172,800
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-19 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10459293

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10459293, Wireless Physiologic Monitoring in Postpartum Women in rural Uganda (5K23HD097300-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10459293. Licensed CC0.

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