Pregnancy and Postpartum Hypertension Control Initiative

The Office on Women's Health (OWH) anticipates the availability of funding for an implementation and scaling project to build upon foundational work in managing hypertension by the HHS Hypertension Innovator Award (OWH), the Hypertension in Pregnancy Change Package (CDC), the National Hypertension Control Initiative (OMH, HRSA), the SMBP Forum and SMBP QI work (CDC), the CDC-supported National Hypertension Control Roundtable, and the HHS Federal Hypertension Control Leadership Council. The lessons generated from these endeavors will be deployed to achieve the current initiative’s primary aim to accelerate nation-wide implementation of SMBP (self-measured blood pressure) during pregnancy and postpartum. SMBP is a best practice defined as the regular measurement of blood pressure by the patient at home or other setting with clinical support. Based on a large body of evidence, SMBP is recommended in both national and international guidelines for the detection and control of HTN in adults and its use postpartum by AHRQ’s Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Management of Postpartum Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy. This initiative is intended to serve as the catalyst to drive towards making SMBP a common and routine practice during pregnancy and postpartum. With a special focus on underserved and rural communities, including maternity care deserts, the initiative seeks equitable detection and control of HTN, improved maternal and fetal outcomes, and reductions in admissions and morbidity from HTN-related complications. Applicants will need to demonstrate that they will be able to fully implement their projects within the first six months of the award. Recipients will be expected to evaluate processes and outcomes throughout the project to assess project effectiveness and impact over the period of performance. Over the course of the project, recipients will be expected to document and share project findings and results (e.g., data, best practices, lessons learned) with HHS and others interested in SMBP utilization during pregnancy and postpartum. We expect to fund awards in 12-month budget periods for a total period of performance up to 24 months. Recipients must submit a non-competing continuation (NCC) application for each budget period after the first. Continuation funding is contingent upon the availability of funds, satisfactory progress of the project, appropriate stewardship of federal funds, and the best interests of the government. Funding for all approved budget periods after the first is generally the same as the initial award amount subject to any offset with funds unused in the previous budget period. These projects are time-limited for the purpose of assessing the effectiveness of an approach or intervention toward reaching a desired outcome. We expect award recipients under this opportunity to consider approaches to sustainability beyond the end of the support provided by OWH. Any private (either profit or nonprofit) or public entity located in a State is eligible to apply for an award under this opportunity. “State” includes, in addition to the several States, only the District of Columbia, Guam, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and any agency or instrumentality thereof exclusive of local governments. (42 U.S.C. § 201(f) (PHS Act, Section 2(f)), 45 C.F.R. § 75.2). Eligible entities include private (either profit or nonprofit) or public faith-based organizations, community-based organizations, and American Indian/Alaska Native/Native American (AI/AN/NA) organizations.