OB/GYN Research Projects & Initiatives

Achieving Equity-Focused Quality Improvement

Within BIDMC's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, we have a Division of Equity, Quality Improvement and Safety and a Diversity, Inclusion and Advocacy Committee. Both groups are comprised of investigators dedicated to equity-focused quality improvement initiatives within the medical center, out in our community and across the globe. Below is a brief summary of our work.

• Centering patient experience in quality improvement
• Addressing maternal health inequities in community-based social support in Greater Boston
• Barriers to care for transgender patients
• Doula support to improve perinatal experiences and equity in care
• Obstetric care for patients with opioid use disorder
• Safe reduction in primary cesarean birth
• Pain control after cesarean birth in patients with limited English proficiency

Improving Reproductive Health for All

Faculty in our Division of Family Planning are involved in various innovative research projects that seek to improve reproductive health. Below is a summary describing the priorities and focus of our investigations.

• Increase patient-centeredness of telehealth care for contraception
• Improve patient access for contraceptive injections during the COVID-19 pandemic
• Expand and evaluate the use of mifepristone for early pregnancy loss
• Increase referrals for medically complex patients
• Examine Depot Medroxyprogesterone Acetate (injectable contraceptive) use in women with epilepsy

Advancing Urogynecology Care

Faculty in the Division of Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery and Center for Intimate Health and Wellness are involved in innovative research projects that seek to improve treatments and quality of life for patients with pelvic floor disorders.

Urogynecology and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery

• Patient education to empower decision-making processes regarding treatment choices
• Safety and efficacy assessments of in-office procedures for pelvic floor disorders
• Improvements in patient satisfaction with the peri-operative experience (outpatient procedures)

Center for Intimate Health and Wellness

• Education in female sexual function in urogynecology
• Advancements in treating female sexual pain
• Patient satisfaction with telehealth in treating female sexual function concerns

Collaborating Locally and Globally

In collaboration with our academic and community partners, our faculty is involved in various innovative research projects that seek to improve health outcomes and address health inequities in communities both locally and globally. Below is a brief summary of research from our Division of Global and Community Health.

Global Health Research Projects

• Cervical cancer screening in Botswana
• Gender-based violence in humanitarian crises
• Academic global health medical education and careers
• Improving quality of childbirth care in rural Chiapas, Mexico
• Enhancing nutrition and antenatal infection treatment for maternal and child health in Ethiopia
• Improving perinatal mood disorders in Tanzania

Community Health Research Projects

• Equity in pregnancy care
• Shared decision-making with Spanish-speaking immigrants
• Community health exposure for OBGYN residents
• Addressing oral health disparities in pregnant women
• Phthalate exposure in immigrant women
• Chinese immigrant experiences with group prenatal care
• Barriers to care for transgender patients
• Doula support to improve perinatal experiences and equity in care

Advancing High-Risk Pregnancy Care

Faculty in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine are involved in innovative research projects that seek to improve health outcomes for patients with high-risk pregnancies and genetic conditions. Below is a brief summary of research.

• Placenta accreta spectrum biomarker discovery and validation
• Effects of placenta accreta spectrum on mental health
• COVID-19 biorepository: effects of the virus and vaccines on pregnant individuals
• Role of maternal immune response in preeclampsia and fetal growth-restriction
• Anemia and transfusion in pregnancy
• Patient perspectives on quality and access to care in the postpartum period
• Impact of health policy on pregnancy outcomes
• Whole exome sequencing in stillbirths
• Role of cell free DNA and fetal outcomes
• Various ultrasound abnormalities and fetal outcomes

Our New England Center for Placental Disorders is also an active participant in the Pan American Society of Placenta Accreta Spectrum (PAS2), a group of medical centers across the country collaborating to better understand and improve treatment options for patients with placenta accreta spectrum (PAS). In addition, the NECPD has the first national biospecimen repository for patients with PAS, a resource which has already provided opportunity for numerous investigations and discovery.

Fostering Research Careers

Our faculty are dedicated to advancing medical education in OB/GYN from the undergraduate level through continuing medical education. Our medical education division faculty have all completed medical education fellowships and have a wealth of experience in curriculum design and development, learner assessment, teaching and faculty development. Additionally, our faculty serve at the national level in key leadership roles in the Association of Professors of Gynecology and Obstetrics and the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology, setting the standards for instruction in reproductive health and training in OB/GYN.

We encourage all trainees to participate in medical education research and to improve as medical educators through our Resident as Teacher and Resident as Mentor programs. The BIDMC Academy of Medical Educators, open to senior residents, fellows, and faculty, provides opportunities for scholarship and mentoring at an institution level.

Below is a brief summary of our research programs and study interests in medical education.

• Resident as Teacher
• Resident as Mentor
• Improving the Learning Environment
• Through Faculty Development
• Through Resident Feedback (Dean’s Innovation Grant)
• Teaching Clinical Reasoning Workshops
• Addressing Implicit Bias in the Learning Environment
• Supporting and Improving the Residency Application Process
• Holistic Review
• Interprofessional Education Podcasts for Medical Students
• Education in Female Sexual Function in Urogynecology