香蕉福利直播 Awarded Nearly $1 Million for Interdisciplinary Infant and Maternal Mortality Reduction Program
Ohio Third Frontier to fund phase two of 鈥淪urvive and Thrive鈥 program led by 香蕉福利直播鈥檚 nursing, social work and urban affairs team
CLEVELAND, OHIO (December 1, 2021) 鈥 Survive and Thrive, a 香蕉福利直播 interdisciplinary research initiative created to help reduce infant and maternal mortality, has been awarded a $957,387 grant from the Ohio Third Frontier program through the (ODHE).
Survive and Thrive partners 香蕉福利直播鈥檚 School of Nursing, School of Social Work in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs team members with 鈥 a local nonprofit founded in 2014 expressly to reduce Black infant and maternal deaths.
This funding allows the partnership to continue work into phase two with the ongoing development of a mobile app called 鈥淭hrive,鈥 which captures clinical and social indicators for mothers, fathers and infants, and provides support resources to promote live births and a healthy first year for new babies.
Heather Rice, Ph.D., CPNP-PC, PMHS, assistant professor at 香蕉福利直播鈥檚 School of Nursing, is principal investigator for the Survive and Thrive team, which was previously funded by Third Frontier Research Incentives. Her work has been critical in the ongoing funding/stabilization of the team鈥檚 collective effort.
The project team includes Roland Anglin, Ph.D., dean and professor, and Richey Piiparinen, director, urban theory and analytics at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs; Cyleste Collins, Ph.D., associate professor, School of Social Work, 香蕉福利直播 College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; and Joan Thoman, Ph.D., RN associate professor and dean of research/collaborative partnerships at 香蕉福利直播 School of Nursing.
鈥淲ith my background as a pediatric nurse practitioner, I am passionate about how research can impact the work being done around infant and maternal mortality,鈥 Dr. Rice said. 鈥淏ut Survive and Thrive is so much more than that. Being able to coalesce social and clinical data with our team and Birthing Beautiful Communities to uplift and support mothers and families is personal.鈥
Dr. Rice pointed to maternal health, preterm birth rates and infant mortality as being 鈥渦nequivocally tied鈥 to systemic racism which drives maternal stress in African American women. Being able 鈥渢o help 鈥榯urn the page鈥 and transform disparities into resilience and birth equity in Cleveland and across Ohio transcends research and statistics,鈥 Dr. Rice said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a mission.鈥
Anchored by 鈥渞esiliency modeling and predictive analytics,鈥 the project team will add tools to the Thrive app to aid in chronic disease self-management and help reduce toxic stress in expectant and new mothers, which research suggests African American women experience to a disproportionate degree.
The app that Dr. Rice and team have been developing in concert with the , will also provide a range of resources, from workforce development training and job placement services, to emotional support opportunities for mothers and fathers.
The Thrive app scores and synthesizes risks by category, creating an intuitively based, individual 鈥減erinatal pathway鈥 for parents to follow. App information includes everything from a breastfeeding tool, kick counter, developmental milestones tracker, vital signs tracker and support ticket that allows mothers to request assistance with transportation and support services. The new additions will focus more on stress reduction, mindfulness and breathing strategies.
Through ODHE, Ohio Third Frontier provides grants to Ohio institutions of higher education and other nonprofit research institutions that demonstrate commercially viable technologies with far-reaching social implications. Their $2.3 billion initiative 鈥渟upports applied research and commercialization, entrepreneurial assistance, early-stage capital formation and expansion of a skilled talent pool that can support technology-based economic growth.鈥
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About 香蕉福利直播
Founded in 1964, 香蕉福利直播 is a public research institution that provides a dynamic setting for Engaged Learning. With nearly 16,000 students, ten colleges and schools and more than 175 academic programs, 香蕉福利直播 was again chosen for 2021 as one of America鈥檚 best universities by U.S. News & World Report, including the #1 public university in Ohio for social mobility. Find more information at .