We are thrilled to announce that the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) has approved a $5.6 million research grant to compare the effectiveness of two enhanced prenatal care programs available for low-income women: “Glow!”, a Fresno-based group prenatal care with wraparound services intervention, and individual prenatal care with additional services provided by the Department of Public Health’s Comprehensive Perinatal Service Program (CPSP). Glow! is a community-driven intervention, originally incubated by PTBi- Fresno, the County’s multi-sector collective impact effort supported by UCSF California Preterm Birth Initiative (PTBi-CA) The new PCORI-funded project's primary research goal is to compare the effectiveness of the two models of care in lowering a woman’s risk of preterm birth and reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. Secondary goals include comparing women’s experience of respectful/disrespectful care and satisfaction with care.
The announcement came on Tuesday, April 16th, as members of the UCSF PTBi-CA Glow! team came together to listen to PCORI’s public board meeting where the final vote was cast. PCORI received 180 letters of intent for funding, had 65 full proposals submitted and selected 7 applications for an overall funding rate of 11%. The project is a partnership between UCSF PTBi-CA, with principal investigator Miriam Kuppermann, PhD , and California State University, Fresno, with principal investigator Lauren Lessard, PhD. Dr. Kuppermann noted that the PCORI review committee was especially impressed with how involved the Fresno community had been from Glow!’s very inception. Kuppermann stated, “community has been engaged in all aspects of the work, even down to creating the name of the program.” As the team celebrated the announcement, Kuppermann shared with a smile, “there was a really nice quote in the reviewer comments from PCORI. It said ‘[t]his is the type of quality research initiative for which PCORI was created.’"
About Glow!
Glow! is a novel group prenatal care demonstration project that is grounded in growing evidence of this approach’s impact on birth outcomes and maternal health. Glow! builds on other group prenatal care models by providing wrap-around services at a central location, and focusing on mindfulness and the role of sleep in reducing preterm birth risk.
The Glow! team is implementing a robust evaluation plan in close collaboration with the Fresno County Collective Impact effort, First 5 Fresno County, Fresno State Central Valley Health Policy Institute, and UCSF.
