To meet the health needs of women and children throughout their lifetime, Providence Health & Services founded the Providence Women and Children ’s Health Research Center. The Research Center has assembled a team of outstanding physicians and scientists and is currently engaged in building the infrastructure and resources to support a comprehensive program of research in health care issues that most affect women and children.
Our approach to research includes:
Forming multidisciplinary research teams
Focusing on clinically relevant questions
Optimizing the use of Providence data sources
Developing collaborations within and outside Providence
Centralizing data management and support functions
Current research activities seek to answer the following questions about women and children’s health:
Urogynecology: How common is incontinence? What factors are related? Which surgical and nonsurgical treatments are effective?
Maternity: How can childbirth be safer? What information do parents need to make healthcare decisions for their extremely premature infants?
Neonatal care: What practices in the intensive care unit give newborns the best chances for healthy lives?
Osteoporosis: How can post-fracture care be optimized to reduce the risks of subsequent osteoporotic fractures?
Family Violence: How common is family violence? How can health workers help patients affected by family violence?
Depression: How common is prenatal and postpartum depression? How can depression best be identified and treated in early stages?
Physician/Patient Communication: How can physicians communicate most effectively to help patients and families understand care and treatment options?
Clinical Data Systems
Providence Women and Children’s Health Research Center administers multiple clinical data and information systems that are utilized for a variety of purposes, including acute care operations, Six Sigma operational improvement projects, quality improvement initiatives and research studies. All databases are protected by HIPAA regulations and by Providence Health & Services policies related to data security.
The Research Center manages the following databases:
NICPop – focuses on neonatal inpatients, including all admissions to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
MatPop – focuses on obstetrical inpatients, primarily at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center (a subset of patients undergoing Ceserean /Section at Providence Portland Medical Center are also included).
Postpartum Depression Screening – includes all women who are screened for postpartum depression during their visit to the Postpartum Care Center at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.
Continence Center – includes women who are diagnosed and treated at the Providence Continence Center.
Providence Osteoporotic Fracture Registry – includes all women aged 65 years and older who are admitted to a Providence hospital with a fracture.
