How can a learning network help improve maternal health outcomes?

Challenge

The US has the highest maternal mortality rates among developed countries. In addition to maternal deaths, approximately 50,000 Americans experience adverse and unexpected issues from labor and delivery each year. Improving maternal health outcomes requires innovative solutions that address not just clinical health care but upstream drivers of health, as well as leveraging community-based solutions.

Solution

In 2023, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) invested in 4 multiyear, multisite patient-centered comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) trials through a novel funding opportunity known as the “Partner PCORI Funding Announcement (PFA),” which is designed to address the social and clinical upstream drivers of maternal health. These studies will test multicomponent, multilevel interventions to improve maternal health outcomes through practice transformation and the use of a shared leadership model that brings together multisectoral contributors.

To maximize this investment, PCORI has partnered with Westat to lead a formal research network known as the Partner Learning Network, or PLN, to support the 4 awardees in implementing their CER trials. The PLN creates a structured opportunity for the 4 studies to collaborate on the most effective ways to improve maternal health outcomes and learn from each other. The PLN is also designed to support other goals of the Partner PFA, including:

• Developing deeper researcher-community partnerships, where community organizations are full partners in the work
• Creating more robust training for researchers and communities
• Generating evidence-based contributions to the field
• Providing opportunities for mentorship

Results

Through the PLN, the study teams are routinely collaborating as they begin recruitment for their studies. They are sharing knowledge and helping each other address common challenges. The PLN will hold a series of meetings, both virtually and at an annual in-person gathering at the PCORI office, which will involve principal investigators from academic institutions and community-based organizations, study operations staff, other community-based partners, and external stakeholders. The PLN is also beginning work on a joint publication and exploring other opportunities to contribute to peer-reviewed journals and share what is learned, so that the collective research generated by the funded studies can produce transformative evidence for the maternal health field.

This initiative is not just about conducting research—it’s about transforming maternal care, empowering communities, and laying the groundwork for long-term systems change that will improve the health and safety of women giving birth in the US.