Staff from BU will be part of a partnership that has been awarded funding to tackle inequalities in maternal healthcare as part of the NIHR Challenge Call: Maternity Disparities Consortium.
Professor Vanora Hundley and Professor Edwin Van Teijlingen from the Centre for Midwifery and Women’s Health, and Professor Huseyin Dogan and Dr Deniz Cetinkaya from the Department of Computing and Informatics will be part of the group, which is led by Sheffield Hallam University.
The partnership aims to reduce health inequalities for marginalised mothers and babies by establishing the Maternal and Infant Health Equity Research Centre (MIHERC).
The centre will focus initially on priority areas that have been identified by women from migrant, ethnic minority and deprived communities and will be expanded to other marginalised groups such as mothers with disability. These areas are perinatal mental health, communication barriers, healthy lifestyle and the transition to parenthood.
To tackle these inequalities, researchers will work with mothers and families, communities and charities to explore innovative solutions using emerging technologies such as intelligent digital solutions.
Building on strong community engagement and inclusive research, the partnership will work with charities such as Active Pregnancy Foundation and Maternal Mental Health Alliance.
Professor Hundley said, “This will be a strong midwifery-led collaboration working to improve maternity care for the most marginalised women and families. Our approach brings together digital, social science and midwifery expertise to generate new insights and solutions to the disparities in maternal and newborn outcomes.”
Professor Dogan added, “I am looking forward to developing AI-powered solutions to reduce maternity inequalities.”
Professor Hora Soltani, who will lead the project from Sheffield Hallam University, said: “Innovative approaches are desperately needed to address the widening gaps in deaths and health of mothers and babies in the UK. MIHERC is an ambitious North-South partners in collaboration with the wider consortium members, bringing together experts from across a range of disciplines, to make a difference in the life of the most disadvantaged communities in the UK.”
In their feedback, NIHR commended the plan to establish MIHERC based on multi-ethnic and interdisciplinary partnerships with communities and the third sector. They also praised the clear plan for the centre and its focus on capacity building and community engagement specifically in the field of digitalisation and data connectivity.
Professor Marian Knight, Scientific Director for NIHR Infrastructure, said: “We are delighted by the level of engagement shown by researchers with this important research priority. I am confident we have an exceptional consortium to tackle the challenge of maternity inequalities; working in partnership with existing NIHR funded infrastructure and programmes. We look forward to working with the consortium and their collaborators across the UK to develop the final plans for their ground-breaking new research projects over the next few months.”
Health Minister Baroness Gillian Merron said: “Every woman should receive safe, personalised and compassionate maternity care, regardless of background.
“We are determined to tackle the stark and unacceptable inequalities in maternity services and are working with NHS England to urgently improve care. Government-funded research like this is crucial to driving positive change.
“This is part of our mission to build an NHS fit for the future by harnessing the full potential of our research and life sciences sector.”
