NIH’s https://www.nih.gov, Decoding Maternal Morbidity Data Challenge is going to award up to $400,000 to individuals or groups who design an effective method for analyzing a large data set of first time pregnancies.
The goal is to identify risk factors for adverse outcomes that can include hypertensive disorders, diabetes, and infection. A total of $50,000 will be awarded to seven winners designing the most effective means to analyze the data. An additional $10,000 will be awarded to the top five winners whose methods identify risk factors in disadvantaged populations.
The Challenge will be administered by NIH’s National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) https://www.nichd.nih.gov, NICHD partnered with the NASA Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation to award a contract to Freelancer.com in partnership with Adiona, to support the design and management of this challenge.
Using computational analysis, data mining, AI, and other methods, winning entrants will need to devise ways to analyze the vast store of participant data from the Nulliparous Pregnancy Outcomes Study: Monitoring Mothers-to-Be (nuMoM2b).
The nuMoM2b study established in 2010, has compiled data on more than 10,000 pregnant women. The study is a racially, ethnically and geographically diverse sample of people beginning the sixth week of pregnancy and continuing through delivery.
Pregnancy complications, or morbidity may result from conditions women have before pregnancy or develop during pregnancy. It is difficult to estimate the effects of pregnancy complications on maternal and newborn outcomes because they encompass a broad range of conditions that vary in severity.
The Challenge seeks to address maternal mortality and morbidity by focusing on underlying causes, such as obesity, mental health issues, and SUDs. Limited access to health insurance and healthcare can also be contributing factors.
Also, because maternal mortality and morbidity affects Black and Indigenous/Alaska Native women at a much higher rate than other groups, applicants are encouraged to address the needs of these communities.
Go to https://www.challenge.gov/challenge/decoding-maternal-morbidity-data-challenge for more information on entry and the rules of the challenge.