Maternal and Child Health Research Program

Since 1965, the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Research Program has supported meritorious applied research related to maternal and child health services. These investigations have influenced how health care services are organized and delivered throughout the United States.

The MCH Research Program is authorized by Title V, Section 502(a)(1) of the Social Security Act. With the enactment of the Social Security Act in 1935, the Federal Government, through Title V, pledged its support of State efforts to extend the health and welfare services for mothers and children. One way the Federal Government does this is by offering grants through the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) to support innovative research that has immediate potential for improving and managing health care delivery for mothers, children, and families. Many of these studies have yielded new insights and approaches toward treating maternal and child health problems, including those of children with special health care needs.

MCH Research Grants
Projects are selected based on a multiyear research agenda, which consists of broad program areas and priority issues/questions linked to the HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau strategic plans and to the nation's Healthy People 2010 goals and objectives. Often, findings are published in leading medical and child development journals such as Pediatrics, JAMA, Obstetrics & Gynecology and Child Development.

The MCH Research Program has adopted four Strategic Research Issues to guide the program from 2004 through 2009. Prospective applicants are strongly encouraged to submit research proposals that address one or more of these Strategic Issues. They include research related to:

• Public health service systems and infrastructures at the community, State and/or national levels, as they apply to different maternal and child health (MCH) populations based on demographic, epidemiological, and/or other factors.
• MCH services and systems of care efforts to eliminate health disparities and barriers to health care access for MCH populations. These health disparities and barriers to health care access may include racial/ethnic, cultural, linguistic, gender, developmental, geographic, immigrant, underserved, economic considerations, etc.
• Services and systems to assure quality of care for MCH populations.
• Promoting the healthy development of MCH populations.
• Strategic Research Issues details

Grant Evaluation Criteria
To receive grant support, proposed studies must demonstrate originality, importance, regional and national significance, and scientific and technical merit. Applications are evaluated twice a year by a standing research review committee of 14 experts from a variety of clinical and academic disciplines. The "average" rate of funding is about 25 percent (the number of new applications funded divided by the total number of new applications accepted for review). This rate is comparable to other Federal research programs, including the National Institutes of Health.

A significant portion of the funded research addresses health and developmental concerns of minorities and children. Projects that have been funded include

• Health care utilization in pediatric transplantation
• Economic impact of breastfeeding promotion intervention
• Clinical research on interventions to help positive parenting behavior
• Proper child development and growth
• Responsiveness of the Children's Health Insurance Program to children with special health care needs
• Pediatric office system to improve preventive care for children

Resources

• MCH Research Program FY 2004 Grant Application Guidance
• Research Roundtable conference broadcasts
• MCH Research to Practice newsletter. Helps experts apply the findings from MCHB-supported research projects in their maternal and child health practices. The intended audience is primarily, but not exclusively, State, county, and city directors of MCH and special health care needs programs.
• MCH Research Exchange newsletter. Informs the MCH community about the research program and nurtures an open dialogue among MCH community members. It features information about MCHB research priorities and the grant review process, summaries of newly funded research grants, synopses of grantees' findings recently published in peer-reviewed journals, and a special-focus column by the director of the MCH Research Program.
• Maternal and Child Health Research Program: Completed Projects, 1994-1996
• Maternal and Child Health Research Program: Active Projects, FY 1996-97

Contact: MCH Research Program, 301-443-2340