NIH recently released a request for applications (RFA) titled Addressing Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality and Morbidity (RFA-MD-20-008). Women in the United States experience maternal morbidity and mortality (MMM) at much higher rates than those in our peer nations, and American women who are racial and ethnic minorities experience much higher rates of MMM than American White women. This funding opportunity announcement is to support multidisciplinary research examining mechanisms underlying these racial and ethnic disparities, evaluating the efficacy and/or effectiveness of multilevel interventions, and/or testing strategies to optimally and sustainably deliver proven-effective prevention and treatment interventions to reduce these disparities.

Proposed research projects may focus on any point across the continuum of care, from preconception to 1 year after labor or delivery. Research projects must provide a theoretical framework that addresses the intersection of domains of influence (e.g., biological, behavioral, sociocultural) and levels of influence (e.g., individual, interpersonal, societal). Examples of individual-level factors include how prepregnancy obesity, maternal hypertension, gestational weight gain, peripartum obesity, preeclampsia, prediabetes, and gestational diabetes affect postpartum health in women from racial and/or ethnic minority populations. Projects may include intervention research to test new or adapted interventions; health services research to examine the effectiveness of new or existing programs, services, or policies; or implementation research to examine the uptake and sustainability of evidence-based interventions or practices. Health policy, health care system, social and/or behavioral, and clinical interventions are all welcome.

Applications are due May 29, 2020, by 5 p.m. local time of the applicant organization. More information is available here.