Research Projects:
 

Title: Community Child Health Network: Phase II Washington, DC 

• PI: Sharon Ramey
• Co-PI: Robin Lanzi
• Primary Funding Agency: NICHD/NIH
• Abstract:
   
  Goal and Aims
  The overall goal of the Community Child Health Network (CCHN)is to gain new insights into the reasons for the disparities in maternal health and child development. The goals of the first study originating from the Network are 1) to examine the factors associated with maternal allostatic load (a possible factor in poor pregnancy outcomes), and 2) to evaluate the usefulness of community-partnered participatory research for conducting research on health disparities.
  These goals will be achieved through a community-academic partnered, multi-center observational study with the following 2 specific aims:
   
  1. To determine the factors associated with maternal allostatic load.
  2. To explore the relationship between maternal allostatic load during the interconceptional period and birth/child health outcomes in a subsequent pregnancy.
   
  This is a study about stress and resilience and their influences on maternal allostatic load as a mediator of birth outcomes and child health and development. In phase I of this study, we will examine the factors associated with allostatic load, with particular attention to two understudied areas: the influence of community and of paternal factors. We will also establish a framework for exploring the link between maternal allostatic load and birth/child health outcomes in subsequent phases of the study.