Maternal and Child Health Measurement Research Network

Measures are essential to identifying needs, recording trends, and informing programs and policies.  MCH stakeholders are faced with challenges in accessing and using available data tools.  The purpose of the Maternal and Child Health Measurement Research Network (MCH-MRN) is to support a forum that will create a national agenda for health measurement research by producing an evolving compendium of available high quality measures of maternal and child health, and by identifying gaps in existing measures for future development purposes.  The MCH-MRN will thus provide national leadership in enhancing and developing a set of culturally appropriate health measures for: MCH programmatic planning; screening; service provision; interventions that promote physical and psychosocial health and well-being; and clinical decision-making for primary and secondary prevention of disease, injury, and behavioral issues among at-risk mothers, children (including children with special healthcare needs), adolescents, and families.  An improved understanding of the current measurement landscape is necessary to align MCH stakeholders and improve evaluation efforts. The MCH-MRN will address health measurement research gaps among at-risk mothers, children (including children with special health care needs), adolescents, and families, with a focus on programmatic applications.  Examples of measures include but are not limited to: thriving, school readiness, executive function, allostatic load, data capacity, a scale for the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study, adequacy of pediatric healthcare utilization, childhood resilience, flourishing, adequate content for prenatal care, and adequacy of health insurance.  Identifying measurement gaps will result in a more robust understanding of measurement needs in the field and harmonize measurement efforts among diverse MCH stakeholders.

Application Instructions

Please submit:

1. a one-page letter of intent with a description of proposed aims and approach
2. Biosketch or CV of the PI
3. A letter of support from the Dean or Chair. This letter of support signifies that the Dean or Chair have ensured that the nominee and application are likely to be of sufficient quality to be competitive nationally

to research@uw.edu by 5:00 PM Thursday, April 21, 2016. Full proposals are due to the sponsor 5/27/16, so you will need to have your materials in to the Office of Sponsored Programs by 5/19/16 for processing, if given the go ahead by the Proposal Review Committee.