The Burke Foundation and Rutgers School of Public Health are partnering to conduct an evaluation of CenteringPregnancy in New Jersey. Burke funds CenteringPregnancy and CenteringParenting, transformative models of group-based prenatal and pediatric healthcare, as part of the First 1,000 Days initiative. Dr. Leslie Kantor is leading the evaluation team, which includes a group of trained community researchers with lived experience receiving perinatal care and giving birth in New Jersey.
The evaluation’s goal is to assist in developing and sustaining Centering sites by examining:
- Factors that could support or hinder successful implementation so existing and future sites can apply best practices and lessons learned
- Experiences of care among CenteringPregnancy participants, including how the model has affected their level of social support, trust with providers, and building community
- Health outcomes for CenteringPregnancy participants
Research finds that this group prenatal care model helps improve outcomes for mothers and infants and improves their overall care experiences, especially among people of color.
“What we’ll learn will help us as we increase availability of CenteringPregnancy in New Jersey,” said Atiya Weiss, executive director of the Burke Foundation. “It’s important to find out how we can better understand the value of the program to patients and providers and gauge its effectiveness and impact on participants’ health. We deeply value the engagement of community researchers working with Dr. Leslie Kantor and the Rutgers team.” The Burke Foundation is funding the expansion of Centering to as many as 50 New Jersey sites; there are now 23 Burke-funded CenteringPregnancy and CenteringParenting sites in the state.
The study, announced in February 2024, is expected to take 12 months to complete.