New initiative to ensure a better start for vulnerable pregnant women and their children
The BLOOM project aims to use new technology and improved cross-sector collaboration to create better future opportunities for children in Denmark.
A new national research project, BLOOM (Building Lives Optimizing Opportunities by Minding Parents), focuses on reducing health inequalities and providing all children in Denmark with better opportunities for a good start in life.
Researchers from the Department of Health Services Research at the University of Southern Denmark will collaborate with hospitals and municipalities across three Danish regions to develop new methods for identifying pregnant women and families in need of extra support early in pregnancy and ensure they receive the appropriate help across sectors.
– When pregnant women or their partners are in difficult life situations or struggling with, for example, mental health issues or a lack of social networks, it affects both them and their children, says Charlotte Overgaard, Professor of Health Promotion at the Department of Health Services Research and leader of the project.
– The BLOOM project aims to ensure that we identify these families in time and provide them with the help they need.
A new approach to supporting vulnerable families
The BLOOM project will develop and test new approaches to identifying pregnant women facing challenges. These challenges may stem from financial hardship, mental health problems, or experiences of trauma, loss, or neglect.
Despite evidence that 15 per cent of all pregnant women live with significant psychosocial challenges, there is currently no consistent or systematic approach in Denmark for identifying pregnant women in need of special support.
– Our previous research has shown that pregnant women and families dealing with psychosocial pressures often experience anxiety, encounter prejudice, or struggle to open up about their challenges, explains Charlotte Overgaard.
– But no prospective parents should face challenges alone that can impact both their health and their children’s wellbeing in the short and long term.
Early intervention makes a difference
BLOOM is based on research showing that early support can make a crucial difference for both pregnant women and their children.
– By acting early, we can reduce the risk of pregnancy complications, strengthen parents’ mental health, improve the transition to parenthood, and create better conditions for children’s wellbeing and development, says Charlotte Overgaard.
– Our goal is to create a coherent and effective initiative that spans sectors and ensures the best possible start for all children and families.
About the project
The project is built on close collaboration between pregnant women, midwives, doctors, health visitors, and social services to develop sustainable solutions that meet the needs of vulnerable families.
The project will commence in January 2025 and run for four years, funded by a grant of nearly 5 million DKK from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
BLOOM combines new dialogue tools with digital technologies, using validated questionnaires, including tools for detecting domestic violence. The forthcoming national maternity record system will play a key role in enabling effective and respectful sharing of relevant information between healthcare and social services, ensuring that pregnant women and families can quickly access the right support.
The project is grounded in an innovative, research-based approach to developing new initiatives and close involvement of users and healthcare professionals to ensure practical, widely implementable solutions. It will be conducted in collaboration with a specialised team of researchers from the Unit for Health Promotion, Department of Health Services Research at the University of Southern Denmark, as well as three hospitals and three municipalities in different Danish regions.
Project Partners:
Professor Charlotte Overgaard
Research Assistant and prospective PhD student Clara Graugaard Andersen
Postdoctoral researchers Marianne Stistrup Frederiksen and Louise Lund Holm Thomsen
All from the Unit for Health Promotion, Department of Health Services Research, 糖果派对.
Regions Involved:
Region Nordjylland: North Jutland Regional Hospital, Hjørring, and Hjørring Municipality.
Region Syddanmark: University Hospital of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, and Esbjerg Municipality.
Region Hovedstaden: Hvidovre University Hospital and Glostrup Municipality.
Meet the researcher
Charlotte Overgaard is Professor and Head of the Unit of Health Promotion & The Research Team for Women's, Child, Adolescent and Family Health and Intervention Research, Department of Public Health