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Funded Projects

Parenting Support Is Public Health: Reducing Health Disparities in the Child Welfare System

Awarded in 2019
Community Impact Grant
Updated Sep 12, 2023

At a Glance

A public health approach to family support is needed to effectively address family stress and instability that is experienced by families in some of Milwaukee’s most vulnerable communities.

Through this grant, the initiative ultimately aims to improve health outcomes for children by building an integrated system of prevention, intervention and treatment services to strengthen families and help reduce the disproportionate rates of African American children in the Milwaukee child welfare system.

More about the WPP Community Impact Grant Program

More Funded Projects

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Community Impact Grant

Wisconsin Rural Health & Substance Use Clinical Support (RHeSUS) Program

Awarded in 2021
The RHeSUS initiative seeks to close the substance misuse treatment gap by improving treatment and care for people struggling with substance use disorders in rural Wisconsin. The team aims to enhance the care delivery capacity of rural primary care clinics and hospitals and the availability of peer recovery support to rural residents. The team aims to enhance the care delivery capacity of rural primary care clinics and hospitals and the availability of peer recovery support to rural residents. This initiative supports a new collaboration between Wisconsin Voices for Recovery, academic partner Dr. Randall Brown, professor of family medicine, and the Wisconsin Hospital Association, which will leverage its network of health systems to facilitate this work.
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New Investigator Program

Quantitative Functional Biomarkers of Cervical Remodeling During Pregnancy Using Ultrasound Imaging

Outcome Report
Awarded in 2021
This project, led by Dr. Ivan Rosado Mendez, aimed to develop and implement ultrasound microvessel imaging (UMI) as a functional imaging technique to study cervical remodeling during pregnancy in real time. Cervical remodeling describes the progressive changes of the cervix during pregnancy and involves four phases: softening, ripening, dilation and postpartum repair. If the cervix ripens in preparation for delivery too early, it can cause premature birth. Preterm birth (PTB), defined as delivery before 37 weeks of pregnancy, results in one million deaths worldwide and is associated with significant racial and socioeconomic disparities. The researchers successfully developed a cervical tissue-mimicking model, called a phantom, composed of agar-based simulated tissue, fluid-carrying channels, blood-mimicking fluid and a system to control fluid dynamics. They validated channel dimensions with micro-CT scans, ensured stability over 14 days and selected a fluid that best matched the features of human blood for the prototype. Finally, the team implemented a high-resolution imaging protocol that was able to detect fluid movement through the channels even when surrounded by simulated tissue.