Maternal Health Assessment and Clinical Referral Integrated into Pediatric care (M-HARP) in the Dominican Republic

Pregnancy-related health conditions are a major source of maternal mortality and morbidity globally, with lower- and middle-income countries suffering a higher burden of disease. The Dominican Republic has had a significant increase in maternal mortality over the past two decades due partially to barriers to accessing care for the mother and newborn. The major goal of this study is to develop and pilot M-HARP (Maternal Health Assessment and Referral Integrated into Pediatric Care). M-HARP will adapt a successful US-based health screening and referral protocol to fit the needs of new mothers at Clínica de Familia La Romana (CFLR). CFLR is an integrated health clinic in the DR that provides obstetric, pediatric, primary care and specialized care services to over 50,000 patients annually. We hypothesize that M-HARP will be acceptable, feasible and an effective strategy for connecting mothers to health care services. We will test this hypothesis with two aims (1) Develop strategies and processes for establishing M-HARP into CFLR and (2) pilot M-HARP. This proposal utilizes an existing global health collaboration between an academic institution and health center in the DR to test a novel approach to improving access to postpartum care for mothers. Additionally, this project will allow Regina Fricton, a Northwestern University medical student, to spend a year focused on research that will advance her career trajectory to becomes a global health physician-scientist focused on improving maternal health.