This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. The project involved a collaboration between the Arkansas INBRE and the COBRE Center for Translational Neuroscience (CTN). Very low birth weight (VLBW) births are a leading cause of death and disability in infants, along with incurring major health care costs, but these can be reduced by providing specialized pre- and perinatal care at qualified hospitals and optimizing care at local hospitals. Unfortunately, some women undergoing high-risk pregnancies live in rural areas and do not have ready access to sub-specialists who can help improve birth outcomes. Telemedicine offers enhanced outreach, relatively low cost, scalability, time efficiency, and customized service, and is a promising alternative to deliver quality pre- and perinatal care to rural and underserved populations. The CTN set up an effort aimed at reducing rural-urban healthcare disparities and providing professional development for physicians through the telemedicine capacity of the Community Based Research and Education Core Facility, and its neonatology program, PedsPLACE (Physician Learning and Collaborative Education), under the direction of R Whit Hall, MD. The purpose of this INBRE proposal was to design and implement a series of valid and reliable assessment procedures to determine the effectiveness of PedsPLACE. This assessment will result in the identification of best practices in specific areas of the program and areas that might need improvement, with a view towards improving health outcomes in rural and underserved populations.
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