PROMOTE and TEACH Equity

NIH RePORTER · NIH · R01 · $692,141 · view on reporter.nih.gov ↗

Abstract

ABSTRACT Minoritized pregnant patients sometimes face impossible choices between earning necessary income and adherence to prenatal care; these issues were highlighted in our formative qualitative work with Black pregnant patients. Increased prenatal care adherence and positive maternal and infant health outcomes may be promoted by addressing work-related pregnancy care barriers. Obstetric clinicians are uniquely positioned to ensure pregnant patients are educated about federally mandated employment protections during their pregnancy, however very few clinicians have formal training about employment laws that govern accommodations during pregnancy and postpartum. To fill this unmet need, a patient- and community-engaged multidisciplinary team and I developed, and pilot tested PROvider ReMote ObsTetric-Related Employment Education (PROMOTE). Our research aims will use a clinic-level randomized trial comparing PROMOTE vs usual care. During Research Aim 1, we will determine the efficacy of PROMOTE to increase the likelihood that obstetric clinical teams counsel patients about work and pregnancy. In Research Aim 2, we will determine the effectiveness of PROMOTE to reduce undesired wage or advancement reduction, increase access to accommodations, and improve prenatal care adherence and pregnancy health outcomes. The rich dataset that we will collect, including electronic medical record review, patient survey and qualitative interviews will be leveraged as we advance our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) work. Our DEIA work will enhance diversity in biomedical research by developing and pilot testing ObsTetric HEAlth Equity ResearCH Mentoring (TEACH) Equity, a year-long mentored career development and obstetric health disparities research program tailored to medical students who are underrepresented in medicine. During DEIA Aims, the patient- and community-engaged multidisciplinary stakeholder and I will develop the TEACH Equity mentorship program including career and research mentorship. We will leverage existing institutional resources at Duke and integrate TEACH Equity seamlessly into the unique Duke medical school curriculum which provides a year for mentored research. We will pilot test TEACH with six Duke medical students to determine feasibility and acceptability of TEACH Equity. The proposed research and DEIA work is led by an early-stage investigator clinically trained as a Maternal Fetal Medicine subspecialist with master’s level research training, formal health disparities research training, local and national DEIA leadership, and experience mentoring trainees underrepresented in medicine. The proposed project integrates research that will yield an intervention that empowers obstetric clinicians with practical skills to address employment- related barriers to prenatal care and DEIA work that will enhance diversity in biomedical research developing and pilot testing an obstetric health disparities mentored research experi...

Key facts

NIH application ID
10941962
Project number
1R01HD115609-01
Recipient
DUKE UNIVERSITY
Principal Investigator
Sarahn Wheeler
Activity code
R01
Funding institute
NIH
Fiscal year
2024
Award amount
$692,141
Award type
1
Project period
2024-08-01 → 2029-07-31