Project addresses mental health issues experienced at higher rates by Black women
Washington, D.C. (October 17, 2022) – The Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) was recently awarded a one-year grant from the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to examine solutions and critical resources necessary to improve the quality of maternal mental health care for Black women. The funding builds on a previous collaboration between ACHP and the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) in the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)-funded Raising the Bar on Maternal Health project.
“Black women experience higher prevalence of maternity-related mental health conditions, such as postpartum depression and anxiety, which can lead to serious complications and adverse outcomes, like pre-term birth,” remarked Ceci Connolly, ACHP President and CEO. “These inequities are often attributable to toxic stress and social drivers of health and are compounded by gross inequities in birth outcomes. We are grateful to PCORI for recognizing the importance of this project and for putting its confidence in ACHP to carry it forward.”
To date, effective approaches to addressing this crisis within a crisis are not well-defined or informed by a robust research base. The planned multi-stakeholder dialogue will result in a patient-centered, women-led outcome research agenda that highlights key pathways for expanding access to equitable and antiracist maternal mental health care. Many of ACHP’s member organizations operate affiliated research institutes and will be active participants in the work. The one-year project will commence on March 1, 2023.
About ACHP
The Alliance of Community Health Plans (ACHP) represents the nation’s top-performing nonprofit health companies, which serve tens of millions of Americans in 36 states and D.C. ACHP member plans collaborate with providers on high-quality coverage and care — leading the industry in practical reforms.
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