Fiscal year (FY) 2023 Quality Improvement Fund-Maternal Health (QIF-MH) one-time funding is available for approximately 12 health centers on a competitive basis. The purpose of the QIF-MH funding is to support health centers to improve maternal health and reduce racial and ethnic maternal health disparities by partnering with patients and the community to develop and pilot innovative, patient-centered, scalable models of care delivery that address both the clinical and health-related social needs of health center patients at highest risk of maternal morbidity and mortality.
You will complete a Project Plan Form as part of the QIF-MH application in the HRSA Electronic Handbooks (EHBs). The Project Plan Form serves as an overview to guide project implementation. The following guide is provided for reference purposes only; it does not represent the form as formatted in the EHBs.
On this page:
Instructions
The Project Plan Form is divided into two sections: (1) Project Overview and (2) Innovation Tables.
- In the Project Overview section, provide information that applies to the entire project including: project name, problem statement, project goals, population of focus, community engagement approach, and barriers summary.
- In the Innovation Tables section, describe each proposed innovation(s) in detail.
Align all sections of the Project Plan Form with your responses provided in the Project Narrative.
Project Overview
Project Name
Provide a brief title for your entire project.
Narrative field, up to 100 characters.
Problem Statement
Provide a brief description of the disparities your proposed innovation(s) will address.
Narrative field, up to 400 characters.
Goal
Provide a brief description of the overarching goal(s) of your proposed innovation(s). Goals should be realistic, reflect input from health center patients who have experienced maternal health barriers, and correspond to improved maternal health and reduced racial and ethnic maternal health disparities in the population of focus.
Narrative field, up to 400 characters.
Population of Focus
Briefly describe your population of focus for all of the proposed innovation(s). The description should align with the information provided in the NEED section of the Project Narrative. As stated in the NOFO, population of focus is defined as current health center patients and/or residents of your service area who experience disparities in maternal health indicators and barriers to optimal maternal health.
Narrative field, up to 100 characters.
Community Engagement Approach
Briefly describe your plan to gather input from and meaningfully engage with patients, community members, and community partners.
Narrative field, up to 1,000 characters.
Barriers Summary
Below, select the most significant barriers your project will target. Align your responses with the barriers described in the NEED section of the Project Narrative.
Which of the following health care delivery barriers will your proposed project and corresponding innovation(s) target? (select all that apply)
- Clinical services
- Care models/teams
- Clinical quality and safety
- Continuity of care
- Patient experience
- Other – please describe
Which of the following access barriers will your proposed project and corresponding innovation(s) target? (select all that apply)
- Language access
- Transportation to access health center services
- Care coordination
- Knowledge of health center services (e.g., for residents of the area who are not in care)
- Cultural barriers
- Geographic barriers
- Other – please describe
Which of the following health-related social needs will your proposed project and corresponding innovation(s) target? (select all that apply)
- Housing insecurity
- Food insecurity
- Financial strain
- Lack of transportation/ access to public transportation
- Intimate partner violence
- Other – please describe
Innovation Tables
Instructions for completing the Innovations Tables in EHBs:
Click on the “Add Innovations” button to open up a separate window and add information about your innovation(s). You must add information for at least one innovation. You can add multiple innovations by clicking on the “Add Innovations” button again.
Prior to application submission, please confirm that all intended innovations are included.
Provide a detailed description of each innovation in a separate entry. For each innovation entry, include:
- A narrative description of the innovation,
- Which stage of maternal health it will address, and
- A complete activity table with the following information: the specific barriers the innovation will address, the activities you will implement to carry out the proposed innovation, and the evaluative measures you will use to assess the success of the innovation.
Barriers, activities, and/or evaluative measures may be repeated across innovations, as relevant. A one-to-one match between barriers, activities and evaluative measures is not required.
Descriptions in the Innovation Tables should align with responses provided in the Project Narrative and with the Project Overview section of this Project Plan Form.
After you have entered all information about your innovation, click “Save and Continue” to return to the Project Plan Form. Your innovation information will appear in a table format on the main Project Plan Form. Innovations will be assigned a number according to the order in which they are added.
Innovation #
This number will auto-fill as innovations are added or removed.
Innovation Proposal
Provide a brief narrative overview of the proposed innovation.
Narrative field, up to 2,000 characters.
Maternal Health Stage(s)
Indicate which stage(s) of maternal health will be the focus of your proposed innovation. (select all that apply)
- Preconception
- Prenatal
- Intrapartum
- Postpartum
Barriers
List the specific barriers to optimal maternal health for your population of focus that the proposed innovation will address. Specific barriers described below should align with the broad categories of barriers selected in the Project Overview section of this form and with the description of barriers included in the Project Narrative.
Narrative field, up to 4,000 characters.
Innovative Activities
List and describe the activities you will implement to address the identified barriers and achieve your project goals.
Narrative field, up to 4,000 characters.
Evaluative Measures
List the evaluative measures you plan to use to assess the success of your innovation. You must include at least one measure of patient experience and one measure of community engagement per innovation.
Narrative field, up to 4,000 characters.