Federal Grant Award Summary

Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center received a $164,808 Project Grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) under the Child Health and Human Development Extramural Research program (CFDA 93.865), awarded June 1, 2026, with completion scheduled for May 31, 2031. This five-year award supports Dr. Sump's research and career development plan focused on leveraging digital health interventions to improve infant health outcomes. The project addresses a critical gap in preventive care for infants with poor weight gain in the first six months of life, a population designated as high-priority by NICHD. Specifically, the award funds the development and testing of an adapted mobile health (mHealth) intervention designed to prevent hospitalization for infants at risk of or experiencing poor weight gain, a condition that often has psychosocial or environmental rather than purely medical etiologies.

The research deliverables are structured across three phases: Aim 1 involves conducting participatory qualitative research to identify factors that promote or impede caregiver engagement with mHealth technologies; Aim 2 encompasses user-centered design activities to adapt an existing mHealth intervention for preventive deployment in outpatient settings, including iterative refinement testing; and Aim 3 consists of a single-arm feasibility study to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of the adapted intervention in the target population. Through caregiver-engaged research methodologies, the project will generate an evidence-based, user-centered mHealth tool intended to provide better outpatient support and innovative solutions that prevent the stress, expense, and often-avoidable hospitalization of vulnerable infants.