Welcome to the IMPROVE Maternal Health Hub
Improving Outcomes & Equity in Maternal Health
The IMPROVE Maternal Health Hub offers a central communication point for National Institutes of Health’s Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative grantees. This website highlights the work of the newly established Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence: 12 Research Centers across the country that will develop and implement community-driven interventions and conduct research to understand and address current trends in maternal health from different perspectives. It also provides information about the Data Innovation and Coordination Hub and the Implementation Science Hub, which will support the Research Centers and other IMPROVE grantees with standardized tools, training, skills coaching, and mentoring to further develop their research capacity.
Women died in 2022 from pregnancy-related complications.
Women died in 2022 from pregnancy-related complications.
The IMPROVE Initiative
Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) Initiative launched in 2019 in response to high rates of pregnancy-related complications and deaths. The IMPROVE Initiative supports research to reduce preventable causes of maternal deaths and improve health for women before, during, and after pregnancy. It includes a special emphasis on health disparities and populations that are disproportionately affected, such as racial and ethnic minorities and people with disabilities. Through the Community Implementation Program (IMPROVE-CIP), community-engaged implementation research brings effective interventions into severely impacted communities.
Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence
In August 2023, the National Institutes of Health announced approximately $24 million in first-year funding to establish ten Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence, a Data Innovation and Coordination Hub and an Implementation Science Hub. In June 2024, two additional centers were added thanks to an increase in IMPROVE funding in the fiscal year 2024 federal budget. The centers and hubs will develop and evaluate innovative approaches to reduce pregnancy-related complications and deaths and promote maternal health equity. The grants are expected to last seven years and total an estimated $168 million, pending the availability of funds.
Where are the Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence?
To learn more about the innovative research happening at the Maternal Health Research Centers of Excellence across the United States, explore the map below.
Initiative by the Numbers
2
Hubs
12
Research Centers of Excellence
130+
Community Partners
22
Research Projects
