The Postpartum Assessment of Women Survey (PAHS), the first large-scale data collection effort on the health of U.S. women and their families in the year after birth, is launching in six states and New York City. The survey will reach thousands of women around the country by month's end.
The purpose of the Postpartum Assessment of Women Survey (PAHS) is to better understand how to improve the health and quality of life of women and their families in the year after a child is born. The survey will ask a representative sample of women who recently gave birth about their physical and mental health, health care use and the social determinants of health. Data from this effort will provide insights on actionable strategies that could be taken by state health departments, governments, clinicians and other relevant actors to promote the health of families and mitigate maternal morbidity and mortality in the year after birth. The survey is being sent to women in Kansas, Michigan, New Jersey, New York City, Pennsylvania, Utah and Virginia.
PAHS is an interdisciplinary research collaboration between Columbia University researchers and seven city and state departments of health. The survey is part of a larger Columbia World Project, Leveraging Policy to Improve Maternal Health in the Fourth Trimester, which aims to drive the development and evaluation of evidence-based Medicaid policies to improve the health of women in the year after childbirth.
“We are eager to gather new insights into women’s postpartum experiences, especially in the realm of health care; health insurance; bias and discrimination; the COVID-19 pandemic; and a range of other topics that affect their health,” Jamie Daw, a member of the PAHS project team, said. “The survey will provide critically-needed evidence that will support decisions about how Medicaid is administered to new mothers in these states and, eventually, around the country.”