College of Public Health’s New Prevention Research Center Focuses on Hypertension in Pregnancy
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Fay W. Boozman of College of Public Health is using its Arkansas Prevention Research Center for Women’s Health to address the state’s high rates of maternal mortality.
Established in September 2024, the center is funded by a five-year, $5 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Wendy Nembhard, Ph.D., MPH, professor and chair of the college’s Department of Epidemiology, is the lead multiple principal investigator (MPI). Carol Cornell, Ph.D., professor in the college’s Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, serves as the other MPI of the center. The center is 1 of 20 Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers funded by the CDC.
According to Nembhard, the center will conduct a core research project, engage community partners to address public health priorities and build prevention research capacity. Regarding its foundational research, the center’s focus is pregnancy-associated hypertension, also known as high blood pressure.
Nembhard and Cornell hope that the project will ultimately reduce maternal mortality, pregnancy-related deaths and pregnancy-associated deaths in Arkansas.
“There’s no reason for women to die from something as natural as giving birth,” Nembhard said. “Pregnancy should not be a life-or-death situation. However, it is for many women in Arkansas.
“High blood pressure matters, and a person has to take care of it.”
Additionally, women who have hypertension during a pregnancy often develop negative health outcomes after they give birth. They’re also at risk of having a stroke or a heart attack.
“The health department maternal mortality review board discovered that cardiovascular diseases, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, are among the leading causes of maternal mortality in Arkansas,” Nembhard said. “Through the center targeting hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, we’re attempting to reduce Arkansas’ maternal mortality rates.”
Currently, Arkansas has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality in the nation.
Elected officials — and numerous Arkansas health organizations — have deemed the situation in need of immediate solutions, according to Nembhard.
“If pregnant women learn to recognize that they have hypertension during pregnancy, they can receive treatment that helps to prevent other health outcomes associated with that condition.”
Carol Cornell, Ph.D., professor in the College of Public Health Department of Health Behavior and Health Education, is multiple principal investigator for the Arkansas Prevention Research Center for Women’s Health.
The center’s research will be conducted across south Arkansas in areas that are rural and have the biggest need for primary care and maternity services, based on data from the Health Resources and Services Administration.
Participants in the study receive a blood pressure cuff and a monitor. They record their blood pressure readings electronically. If it’s determined that they have hypertension, their health provider will follow up with appropriate treatments.
The center is partnering with the Arkansas Birthing Project, the Arkansas Department of Health and other groups to help participants use an evidence-based intervention, such as self-monitoring their blood pressure.
Collaborating with health organizations and community partners in the rural areas is not only vital to conducting the research but also important for building trust with the residents and spreading the word about the study.
“If we can implement this in the rural parts of Arkansas, we could then expand it throughout the state,” Nembhard said. “We’re testing three different models. The idea is that at least one of the models will prove successful.
“In south Arkansas, in Union County we’re partnering with a health care provider,” she said. “In the Delta, we’re heavily relying on community partners to get the word out. In the southwest part of state, we’re collaborating with the Arkansas Health Department’s clinics. We’re taking three different approaches to find out which is the best way to reach women and make inroads into the rural communities. Hopefully, we’ll find that all three models are effective, allowing us to use all three based on the characteristics of a county.”
Helping pregnant women track their blood pressure and understand why it’s important that they monitor their numbers is key to saving lives and making the entire state healthier.
“The center is an important resource for Arkansas,” Nembhard said. “This is an invaluable project for a variety of reasons, but most notably it will make people healthier.
“Maternal mortality is important. High blood pressure is important. Together, we’ll address those two things through this project.”