A 2021 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 fill gaps in evidence regarding the impact of gestational diabetes (GDM) treatment on long-term maternal outcomes. Using Geisinger data from 2008 onward, the study seeks to evaluate the long-term effects of treatment for GDM on women from rural settings. The researchers will use a regression discontinuity design to estimate the impact of GDM treatment on A1c and blood pressure over time, comparing women who are not diagnosed with GDM during pregnancy with women who are. To identify what therapeutic outcomes and engagement interventions during pregnancy lead to better maternal postpartum outcomes, the researchers will first calculate the incidence and type of interventions after a positive GDM diagnosis and within six months of the date of delivery. They will then leverage the jump in the therapeutic responses at the diagnostic thresholds to estimate the impact of the different interventions on A1c and blood pressure over time, from one year to 10 years after pregnancy. 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 #78952
Grantee Organization: Georgetown University
Grantee period: 12/1/2021– 6/30/2023
Budget: $99,900
Maria L. Alva is an Assistant Research Professor at the Massive Data Institute at Georgetown University’s McCo... Read Bio