I³R Project Launches Maternal Health Research in Arkansas

Maternal Health Research Shifting Focus to Arkansas Families

When researchers began planning a new maternal health initiative for Arkansas, they decided to start by asking a straightforward question: What would actually make research useful to families navigating pregnancy in the state?

Launched on July 1, a 12-month project led by the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research (I³R) in partnership with Community Clinic of Northwest Arkansas is putting that question directly to patients, local health care providers, and community partners. Funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, the effort arrives as rural and semi-rural families grapple with stark regional health disparities, long driving distances to care, provider shortages, and persistent language barriers.

The numbers underlying the initiative highlight an urgent public health landscape. Arkansas has lost 10 hospital obstetric units since 2019, leaving only 30 hospitals across the state that provide labor and delivery services. Today, 51 of Arkansas’s 75 counties lack those critical services entirely. According to state figures, nearly three in 10 mothers failed to begin prenatal care during the first trimester in 2024, while nearly 16% of new mothers surveyed in 2023 reported receiving no postpartum checkup at all.

The Postpartum Mortality Gap

Those missed checkups carry severe risks. According to data made public by the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement in January 2025, close to two-thirds of all pregnancy-related fatalities nationwide take place following childbirth. Within Arkansas, that proportion climbs even higher, with the Arkansas Maternal Mortality Review Committee finding that 69.5% of pregnancy-related deaths happen after delivery.

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Pregnant and postpartum women in rural areas face heightened vulnerabilities to gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, preterm birth, and maternal stress. For Mohsen Bazargan, distinguished medical sociologist and project lead, these statistics point to a crisis that extends far beyond clinical walls. Bazargan stated that prenatal care in Arkansas, especially in rural areas, is an urgent public health concern. He added that the lack of appropriate prenatal and post-partum care does not just impact the mother and the child; it impacts whole families and communities, noting that it is more than a health issue, but a socio-economic one.

The project team at the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research also includes Meredith Adkins, assistant research professor; Koustav Ganguly, research professor; and James Abbas, professor. Operating as the clinic’s designated project lead alongside project coordinator Philip Sambol is Lisa Stafford, who holds the position of senior vice president of research and innovation at Community Clinic. Community health workers, doulas, maternal navigators, and food-access partners complete the coalition.

Listening Sessions Shape the Agenda

Rather than imposing a top-down framework, the project began with direct listening. On Oct. 1, the initiative held its first in-person convening, bringing together 48 pregnant and postpartum patients and family members—including representatives from Northwest Arkansas’s Marshallese and Latino communities—alongside health care professionals.

Participants detailed the everyday obstacles complicating maternal care, including transportation, childcare gaps, insurance hurdles, and language differences. A central theme of the discussions was nutrition. Attendees emphasized that food access must go beyond mere availability to include affordability, freshness, and cultural relevance. Marshallese participants pointed out that standardized nutrition guidelines fail to address the specific needs of diverse communities.

Drawing from these discussions, the research team drafted 18 preliminary comparative research questions. Over the course of the project, organizers expect roughly 150 participant interactions, with patients making up at least half of each convening and serving as paid co-facilitators.

What Comes Next for the Project

The 12-month effort will culminate in a Top 10 patient-prioritized research agenda, a matrix of potential care comparisons—such as evaluating “Food Is Medicine” strategies alongside standard prenatal care—and patient-important outcomes. Organizers will also produce multilingual summaries, an engagement playbook, and a sustainability roadmap designed to help researchers shape future studies around the realities of rural communities.

Arkansas healthcare experts address maternal health disparity

As subsequent convenings refine the research priorities, the collaboration between the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research and Community Clinic aims to bridge the gap between academic research and the families relying on it.