Diverse Data
The initiative aims to reduce health inequalities and improve patient outcomes in genomic medicine for minoritised communities.
Maternal health
Maternal health disparities present a significant challenge and amongst these, preterm birth stands out. Babies who are preterm are born too early and often have health problems, which can sometimes be life-threatening. Unfortunately, effective prevention and treatment approaches for preterm birth remain limited.
Whilst inequalities in maternal outcomes are largely driven by social factors, genetic studies show us that both the mother and baby’s genes can also play a role. However, we still don’t understand how.
Currently genetic research in maternal health does not truly reflect the UK population, particularly when it comes to women from non-European genetic ancestries.
About the programme
This major programme aims to support a range of studies that investigate the genes that affect preterm birth and the length of pregnancy in women from different backgrounds, as well as maternal complications during pregnancy such as pre-eclampsia, liver problems, and diabetes during pregnancy. This will help us understand the role of our genes in driving maternal health outcomes.
To support this work, we will also run a series of patient and public engagement activities to understand the barriers and concerns to engaging in genomics research for maternal health across a range of people from diverse backgrounds.
