Wake Forest University School of Medicine awarded grant to research birth outcome disparities

The Wake Forest University School of Medicine has received a major grant for a project aimed at reducing disparities in birth outcomes. 

The school has been awarded $1.5 million from the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust. It’s earmarked for a three-year project focusing on disparities in birth and postpartum outcomes for Black and Latinx communities in Forsyth County.

Wake’s School of Medicine will partner with local nonprofit Action4Equity to empower community engagement in the research.

Dr. April Miller, who will co-lead the project, released a statement noting that data in North Carolina shows that “African Americans, Latinos, American Indians, and those living in poverty often suffer the worst health and education outcomes.”

Miller says community-led research will flip the traditional narrative of health systems making decisions, relying more on input from those with “lived experiences” such as local mothers, midwives, and mental health counselors.

Recommendations will be presented by the School of Medicine’s review board, and by the People’s Research Council, a Forsyth County community-led initiative.