Bridging the Gap: New Training Initiative Aims to Save Lives in Rural Maternity Care Deserts

In the United States, rural communities are disproportionately affected by limited access to high-quality care and higher mortality rates, especially regarding maternal health. Rogie Royce Carandang, PhD, MPH, MSc, RPh, Assistant Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at the Kate Marmion School of Public Health, is leading efforts to mitigate these disparities. Alongside a collaborative team, Carandang is championing a critical study designed to adapt specialized emergency training for healthcare workers in resource-limited environments. With over one-third of U.S. counties classified as "maternity care deserts," equipping local providers with the right skills to handle life-threatening pregnancy complications is more urgent than ever.

This research focuses on expanding the reach of Obstetric Life Support, a proven simulation-based curriculum that trains medical professionals to manage cardiac arrest and other emergencies specific to pregnant patients. While standard training is often available in major cities, the study seeks to tailor these essential lessons for rural settings where financial constraints and workforce shortages create unique barriers. By using implementation science frameworks, the team is developing a sustainable model that adapts to local capabilities without sacrificing safety, ensuring that nurses, midwives, and first responders can effectively stabilize mothers even when advanced hospital resources are not immediately available.

The insights gained from this protocol aim to create a scalable solution that reduces preventable deaths. For communities in South Texas, where large swaths of the region face similar provider shortages and access challenges, the framework developed through this work in the New England region offers a vital blueprint for improvement. By implementing these adapted training standards locally, health leaders can better prepare their teams to respond to crises, ultimately safeguarding the health of mothers and infants in some of the state's most underserved neighborhoods.

Read the study protocol and abstract: Optimizing obstetric life support training in rural healthcare settings in New England: protocol for a multisite prospective study