Highlighted Studies

Maternal Health Research Center

The UTRGV School of Medicine was awarded $2,275,863 in September 2023 to establish the first of its kind Maternal Health Research Center in the Rio Grande Valley. The Maternal Health Research Network (MH-RN) for Minority Serving Institutes Research Awards grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), will establish the UTRGV Maternal Health Research Center. It is just one of 16 minority-serving institutes in the United States forming a research network to conduct maternal health research. Dr. Candace Robledo, associate professor in the department of Population Health and Biostatistics, is the principal investigator for the grant. The UTRGV Maternal Health Research Center was designated as an Organized Research Unit by the School of Medicine in September 2024.

The 5-year award will help address health disparities in maternal health across the Rio Grande Valley. It aims to integrate mental and behavioral healthcare and resources into the routine as part of the maternal health process. The Maternal Health Research Center will plan and implement maternal health research studies to inform relevant, culturally appropriate and peer led interventions to address health disparities in the Rio Grande Valley and beyond. It will increase the capacity for maternal health disparity research at UTRGV. Research findings will be disseminated and translated into practice through various means such as academic publications, public facing websites, guidelines, tools, and toolkits.

COVID-19 Impact on Health and Well-being Survey

The COVID-19 Impact on Health and Well-being Survey collected data in two phases. The first phase was launched in April 2020 and closed in late June 2020. The survey was originally designed to examine how mental health and well-being were impacted by shelter in home/place mandates. It was created through the collaborative efforts of UTRGV Departments of Population Health & Biostatistics, Family Medicine, Psychological Sciences and Sociology.

As the COVID-19 pandemic evolved and stay at home mandates expired, the focus of the study shifted to gather information on how the pandemic affected access to healthcare, especially for pregnant women and new mothers. Phase II of the study also looked at attitudes and behaviors toward what people perceive as effective or ineffective at keeping them safe from exposure to COVID-19. Other areas, such as depression and anxiety remained in the study to give investigators a picture of how levels of depression and anxiety changed over a span of several months during the pandemic. Data collection for Phase II began in July 2020 and ended in December 2020.

Survey instruments for both phases of the study were created using REDCap. The instruments were available in English and Spanish and designed to be anonymous. Participants spent an average of 15-20 minutes completing the survey. Table 1 gives a general overview of survey content. Most survey sections, including demographics, ask specifically how daily living has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.