UIC Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence

OVERALL PROJECT ABSTRACT
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence (Center) will
effectively contribute to eliminating maternal morbidity and mortality by taking a system-level approach to
addressing maternal health inequity. The Center convenes investigators and leaders from diverse disciplines
and embodies decades of maternal health expertise in research, education, and community partnership,
including several pioneers in the field of maternal health. The overall goal of the Center is to advance maternal
health research by examining the mechanisms by which structural inequity contributes to maternal health
disparities and to develop innovative clinical strategies to prevent maternal mortality (MM), reduce severe
maternal morbidity (SMM), and promote maternal health equity in partnership with communities. We will move
away from a focus on individual outcomes and contributors to inequality and focus on studying ways to
leverage systems for large-scale impact. The theme of the Center is to Synergize Multilevel Systems of
Change for maternal health equity. The Specific aims include:
Aim 1. Conduct robust interprofessional research on maternal health equity, using a multilevel approach, with
the goal of decreasing preventable maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, and promote maternal
health equity among women that experience persistent disparities.
Aim 2. Serve as a hub for maternal health career development and work-force training for early-stage
investigators interested in research training.
Aim 3. Disseminate effective strategies for improving comprehensive postpartum care and innovative research
methods to address maternal health inequalities.
Aim 4. Serve as a research resource and build a repository of maternal health data (biological, clinical, survey,
neighborhood) broadly available for use by researchers.
Aim 5. Facilitate and strengthen community partnerships to support the development of, and engagement in,
scholarship, dissemination, and translation of maternal health research.
The UIC Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence consists of three Cores: Research, Community
Partnership, and Training. We propose three complimentary projects: 1) Multilevel exposure to adversity
across the life-course; 2) Multilevel predictive modeling for maternal health equity; and 3) Implementing a novel
model of postpartum care to improve outcomes in rural and urban community sites (prospective intervention).

Grant Number: 1U54HD113087-01
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: RACHEL CASKEY