New research consortium to tackle maternal health disparities with digital technologies Mobile app-based research platform aims to engage and empower researchers and participants across the country.
December 07, 2021
LA JOLLA, CA The Scripps Research Digital Trials Center has launched a new research consortium aimed at improving maternal and fetal health outcomes. The PowerMom consortium brings together organizations from a broad spectrum of sectors from health and technology companies to advocacy groups and community health centers to advance research into maternal health.
PowerMom leverages innovative digital and mobile technologies to recruit, monitor and communicate with pregnant study participants. Led by researchers at the Scripps Research Digital Trials Center, the goal is to build the largest, most diverse community of pregnant people and gather valuable health information that will hopefully help guide expectant mothers and care teams toward healthier pregnancies.
The consortium will support efforts to build awareness of the study platform, encourage participation, provide wearable devices to eligible participants, and help guide scientific priorities.
A national public health crisis
The launch of the consortium comes at a pivotal moment. Maternal health in the United States remains in a state of crisis, ranking first in maternal mortality among developed nations. Despite global maternal mortality decreasing over the course of the last few decades, in the United States the rate has been increasing, with 63% of these pregnancy-related deaths being preventable.
Deep inequities across race, socioeconomic status and geography are exceedingly evident. Black, American Indian and Alaska Native mothers are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than their white counterparts, while Hispanic mothers have the highest rates of increase in severe maternal morbidity in recent years.
Historically, pregnant people have been excluded from most clinical research resulting in significant knowledge gaps when it comes to understanding pregnancy on an individual level, says Toluwalas Ajayi, MD, who is a physician and clinical researcher at Scripps Research, and the principal investigator of PowerMom. Staggering racial inequities make it all the more urgent for scientists to help tackle this national public health crisis.
Joining forces
Together with partners across the country, clinical researchers and data scientists at Scripps Research are approaching this challenge through a combination of innovation, crowdsourcing and community outreach. Tapping into the ubiquity of smartphones and improving broadband access, the PowerMom team has developed an app-based research platform that allows pregnant people to share health data through surveys, electronic health records and wearables such as fitness trackers and smartwatches. By enabling participants to enroll and participate in the study remotely, the scientists hope to eliminate some of the barriers that exist for traditional clinic-based studies which have historically lacked diversity. Building a large and diverse community of pregnant people will allow scientists to shed light on the unique characteristics that contribute to healthy pregnancies.
The team is partnering with organizations with a shared commitment to improving the health of mothers and babies. Outreach support will be provided by Microsoft, March of Dimes, WebMD, Mae, Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance, and African American Wellness Center for Children and Families all of which are helping build awareness of the study. CareEvolution, a health technology company that enables sharing of health information, developed MyDataHelps , the research platform that powers PowerMom and many other digital studies currently underway. Digital health company Sharecare will assist with the development of digital biomarkers and AI models to track maternal health conditions through Smart Omix, its decentralized clinical research platform. In addition, Woebot Health is supporting a sub-study on postpartum mental health management, and Fitbit is supporting a study on the impact that systemic racism experienced by Black and Hispanic pregnant people may have on their health.
We are incredibly fortunate to be working with an exceptional group of organizations whose support will be invaluable to our goal of building a diverse community of pregnant people and advancing research on health disparities in maternal health, says Katie Baca-Motes, director of strategic initiatives at Scripps Research.
The PowerMom consortium builds on a successful pilot phase of the study which saw more than 3,500 pregnant people share their health data with scientists. The initial findings, published in npj Digital Medicine, demonstrate the utility of a smartphone app-based research platform in enabling the recruitment of a large and diverse population of pregnant people to participate in biomedical research.
Any pregnant person living in the United States who has a smartphone is eligible to start participating today. To learn more, visit powermom.scripps.edu.
A new era of research
PowerMom is one in a portfolio of studies currently benefiting from this robust digital research platform that enables researchers and participants to gather valuable health data and translate that data into new knowledge. De-identified data can be securely analyzed by researchers, while participants gain insights into their own health. Transparency and return of information allow for a unique partnership between scientists and study participants that promotes trust because it's a bi-directional type of communication, explains Ajayi.
The team at the Digital Trials Center aims to further expand their nationwide network of partners, enabling many more studies into different aspects of maternal
North America Stories
22/07/2026
Among other tweaks to coverage, the broadcaster added announce positions in the ...
22/07/2026
The Australian Sports Technologies Network (ASTN) has reported a sharp acceleration in Australia's sportstech sector, with revenue growth rising from 10% in...
22/07/2026
From a retrofitted broadcast bus to packed Match Day Live! events, Bennett detai...
22/07/2026
TMRW Sports has named Brendan Donohue as President, Flag Football, where he will lead the company's professional flag football business in partnership with ...
22/07/2026
Stephen Arnold Music (SAM) designed and produced soundtracks for nine projection...
22/07/2026
Harmonic has announced a $25,000 donation to Global Empowerment Mission (GEM) fo...
22/07/2026
Telemundo has announced it has acquired from UC3 exclusive U.S. Spanish-language...
22/07/2026
The Rest Is Football, hosted by Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, ...
22/07/2026
Sports Studio has announced a partnership with TheSoul Group to distribute Free ...
22/07/2026
Daktronics has concluded its 2026 High School Video Summit, a two-day hybrid event combining virtual sessions with hands-on host school visits across the countr...
22/07/2026
FOR-A America will exhibit at the MMCA Show in Pensacola, Florida (July 21-24), marking the company's first appearance at the house of worship AV event. FOR...
22/07/2026
The New York Yankees have selected Lumen Technologies (NYSE: LUMN) to connect Ya...
22/07/2026
Calrec will exhibit at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.C47) with demonstrations of its IP-native audio ecosystem built around the Argo console range, and will announce two ne...
22/07/2026
Solid State Logic has announced the appointment of Algam EKO as its distributor for SSL large format consoles in Italy, covering the Live, Broadcast, and Studio...
22/07/2026
FloSports has announced the launch of the FloSports Channel, a free ad-supported streaming channel premiering on Prime Video in the U.S. on July 21. The channel...
22/07/2026
Banana Ball TV (BTV), the broadcast operation of the Savannah Bananas, has insta...
22/07/2026
SiriusXM and Audacy have announced an agreement bringing 42 Audacy sports, news, and talk stations from 29 U.S. markets to SiriusXM. Twenty-three Audacy sports ...
22/07/2026
The collaboration produced more than 500 short-form videos across four cities th...
22/07/2026
At 2,600 sq. ft., the new home of digital content houses a main studio, podcast space, and an auxiliary control room
NFL franchises are accelerating their prod...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Proven managed IP solution helps broadcasters confidently navigate the future of broadcast distribution
LTN announces it has completed successful satellite-to-...
22/07/2026
Today, Chaos announced V-Ray 7, update 4, eliminating the need for asset conversions and tool switching, which slow down media and entertainment pipelines. Arti...
22/07/2026
An AI playground for the Project Indigo camera app
Marc Levoy July 22, 2026
0 Comments
At left is the user interface of our Playground, running on an ...
22/07/2026
Custom Consoles announces the completion of a large technical furniture project for Radio T l vision Suisse (RTS) at the networks recently inaugurated productio...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/07/2026
Culver City, CA, July 21, 2026 3D streaming infrastructure provider Miris today announced glTF intake, including the binary .glb form, to its spatial streamin...
22/07/2026
Documentary Lo Invisible Captured with Blackmagic PYXIS 6K
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
Camera's versatile design allowed filmmakers to c...
22/07/2026
AAF Bridge converts AAF and XML Timelines to Ableton Live - and back
Jerome Gardier July 21, 2026
0 Comments
A two-way converter for macOS and Windows...
22/07/2026
From Class to Concert: Explore a Student-Led Production of David Bowies Work Thr...
22/07/2026
Before a healthcare robot can be useful in the real world, it has to learn how the physical world pushes back. Anatomy varies. Instruments bend, press, slip and...
21/07/2026
With winners Spain having already paraded the World Cup trophy through Madrid in front of millions of fans and the dust now settling on an epic tournament of th...
21/07/2026
In a time of disarray in regional sports broadcasting, the league will provide c...
21/07/2026
When NEP designed one of its largest recurring mobile production unit fleets for PGA TOUR
coverage, the leading media services provider faced a familiar challe...
21/07/2026
Warner Bros. Discovery's unbroken lead is interrupted as sports and live mus...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Across the TV and streaming ecosystem, industry players face mounting pressure to do more with less. They must simplify operations, protect premium content and ...
21/07/2026
Tuxera, a leading prover of quality-assured file systems and networking technologies, is bringing its latest advances in connectivity performance to the media w...
21/07/2026
COW Jobs: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP Rigged Graphics Package
Brie Clayton July 21, 2026
0 Comments
HIRING: Apple Motion Expert for Custom FCP ...
21/07/2026
Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will use its presence at IBC2026 (stand 7.A01, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to...
21/07/2026
Calrec will be located in Hall 8, on Stand C47
Beyond bigger
For years, broadcast facilities were built around one assumption: provision for the biggest pro...
21/07/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, will discuss its future-facing developments for the new generation of medi...
21/07/2026
nxtedition returns to IBC2026 with its consolidated production platform, showing how scripting, editing, graphics, AI-assisted tools and automation can work wit...
21/07/2026
C2PA content signing helps broadcasters, public institutions, and publishers give audiences a verifiable record of where their video content came from and how i...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
21/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
New research consortium to tackle maternal health disparities with digital technologies Mobile app-based research platform aims to engage and empower researchers and participants across the country.
