# Leveraging Human Factors to Evaluate Quality of Neonatal Delivery Room Care

> **NIH AHRQ K08** · CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA · 2024 · $140,601

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 The purpose of this Mentored Clinical Scientist Research Career Development Award (K08) is to prepare
Heidi M. Herrick, MD MSCE, Clinical Instructor and Attending Physician at the Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for her long-term goal of becoming an
independent health services research scientist with expertise in Human Factors (HF) and its application to
neonatal resuscitation. Her long-term career objective is to apply HF methodology to neonatal resuscitation to
improve provider resuscitation performance and neonatal outcomes. Her immediate goal is to acquire the
mentorship, training, and research experience needed to successfully compete for R01 grants aimed at
optimizing neonatal resuscitation to decrease variation in DR practices and outcomes. To achieve these goals
and transition to independence, Dr. Herrick and her mentors have developed a comprehensive career
development plan based on the following: (1) intensive mentorship from a team with whom she has a proven
track record of collaboration and scholarship; (2) advanced training in HF in complex systems, quality metric
development, and qualitative methodology; (3) mentored leadership positions, and (4) an innovative research
plan to use a HF framework to define and validate DR quality metrics and to develop comprehensive DR
models to evaluate factors that impact quality.
 Prematurity is a major clinical problem with enormous societal burden and cost, affecting one in ten
deliveries in the US. DR resuscitation is paramount to the survival of extremely premature neonates.
Unfortunately, significant variation in DR practices and outcomes exist within the US. This variation
emphasizes the need for improved and consistent care. Unfortunately, there are no comprehensive
approaches to assess DR care, and no validated DR quality metrics exist to help explain and rectify this
variation. Leveraging HF methodology in a multicenter study, Dr. Herrick’s research proposal will fill this
knowledge gap by (1) performing and in-depth works systems analysis of DR resuscitation to identify
systematic factors that impact process and outcome variation, (2) identifying and refining DR quality metrics
using a modified Delphi Process, and (3) testing reliability and validity of consensus quality metrics.
 Dr. Herrick’s K08 studies will address the critical gap of lack of DR quality metrics. The findings from these
studies will directly inform future R01 proposals aimed at decreasing variation to optimize neonatal
resuscitation. Her career development plan outlines a clear path to gain the knowledge, skills, and experience
needed to gain independence as a health services research scientist and to become a leader in the application
of human factors to neonatal resuscitation.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10840296
- **Project number:** 5K08HS029029-03
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S HOSP OF PHILADELPHIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Heidi Herrick
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** AHRQ
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $140,601
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-06-03 → 2027-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10840296

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10840296, Leveraging Human Factors to Evaluate Quality of Neonatal Delivery Room Care (5K08HS029029-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10840296. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*