# Trauma-Informed Obstetric Care:  Development and Implementation of a Stakeholder-Informed Toolkit for Obstetric Providers and Patients

> **NIH NIH K23** · MIRIAM HOSPITAL · 2024 · $161,078

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Many pregnant women have experienced trauma, which can make perinatal care stressful and increase the
risk of pregnancy-related health conditions. However, obstetric providers can modify procedures to reduce
distress and enhance patients’ sense of control and safety. Although obstetric providers frequently care for
trauma survivors, most are not trained in trauma-informed care (TIC). Additionally, there are no data on
feasibility, appropriateness, or acceptability of TIC tools and interventions in the context of obstetrics. The goal
of the proposed K23 project is to develop the first, stakeholder-informed obstetric TIC toolkit composed of
treatment protocols, clinician training, trauma and violence screening tools, and other resources to help
obstetric providers apply TIC practices to all clinical interactions in addition to identifying and providing support
for trauma survivors. The obstetric TIC intervention toolkit (OB-TIC) will be developed in collaboration with key
stakeholders (pregnant and postpartum patients, nurses, physicians, and administrators) to ensure that it is
feasible, acceptable, appropriate, cost-effective, and clinically useful. Current practices and preferences will be
characterized in qualitative interviews with stakeholders which will inform the development of OB-TIC in
collaboration with a community working group of stakeholders. A pilot implementation trial of OB-TIC will be
conducted in two outpatient obstetrics clinics to gather real-world data that will inform the final intervention
toolkit, which will be tested on a larger scale in future (R01) studies. The K23 award will facilitate the
candidate’s transition towards an independent research career focused on improving the well-being of women
through trauma-informed perinatal healthcare and implementation science, which is directly in line with the
NICHD pregnancy and perinatology priority of “improving the health of women before, during, and after
pregnancy.” To date, the candidate’s training has focused on developing clinical expertise in perinatal
behavioral medicine, and research experience in obstetrics, perinatal stress, and behavioral interventions for
stress and discrimination. The K23 award will provide protected time for training in 1) implementation science
methodology focused on the development of stakeholder informed interventions and scale-up and spread of
evidence-based interventions; 2) qualitative research methodology, a foundational component of
implementation science and stakeholder-based intervention development; 3) and trauma-informed care in
obstetrics, which will provide a knowledge base for OB-TIC. Experts in each of the key training domains will
provide individual mentorship in addition to specialized workshops and didactics. During the proposed K23
award, the candidate will be a Research Scientist at The Miriam Hospital and an Assistant Professor at Brown
University. This environment is rich with innovation and collab...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10909281
- **Project number:** 5K23HD107296-03
- **Recipient organization:** MIRIAM HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Laura G Ward
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $161,078
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10909281

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10909281, Trauma-Informed Obstetric Care:  Development and Implementation of a Stakeholder-Informed Toolkit for Obstetric Providers and Patients (5K23HD107296-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10909281. Licensed CC0.

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