A 2024 awarded grant under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Health Data for Action program, managed by AcademyHealth.
This project is funded under the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s research program, “Health Data for Action (HD4A),” which makes valuable data from unique data owners available to researchers to answer important research questions. The goal of the study is to help policymakers improve access to high-quality maternity care and improve maternal and infant health by addressing any adverse impacts of obstetric unit closures on the referral of maternity care patients to risk-appropriate hospitals. Using the New Jersey Integrated Population Health Data (iPHD) along with several other data sources from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), and the American Community Survey (ACS), the study seeks to assess: 1) what the causal effects of obstetric unit closures are on maternity care utilization, maternal health outcomes, and infant health outcomes; 2) how these effects vary across populations; and 3) if obstetric unit closures exacerbate health disparities. The applicants plan to use event study models and regressions to assess the study aims. Deliverables will include a project work plan and final narrative and financial reports. The researchers will also produce paper(s) suitable for publication and present findings at national research meetings and to other stakeholder audiences as appropriate, including policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels and other key stakeholders, as part of the deliverables for this grant.
Grant #81872
Grantee Organization: The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
Grantee Period: 06/15/24 – 6/14/26
Budget: $100,000
Jennifer Kwok, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Administration at the Uni... Read Bio