Case Studies
The Healthy Lives Institute works in partnership with community organizations and affiliate researchers to learn about and advance interventions, models, and programs that improve health outcomes for parents, children, and people who are pregnant. The findings of this research not only changes the individual lives of our community members, but also can influence and impact broader policies that foster systemic, community-level improvements in health.
Past Projects
The Collective: A Community-Based Doula Program Pilot
In recent years, national attention on maternal mortality has increased focus on doula care to provide positive impacts on birth experiences and maternal and infant birth outcomes. Black birthing parents in particular experience disproportionately high levels of avoidable health issues and mortality.
Prior research suggests doula support can result in fewer hours in labor, higher positive feelings about childbirth, lower use of epidural, and higher likelihood of vaginal births. Apart from childbirth, doulas provide services that include health education, family and emotional support, advocacy, and assistance navigating health care and social services.
This pilot program sought to develop and implement a community-based, culturally relevant network of doulas – called The Collective – to support Black parents and infants. Community-based doulas provide culturally appropriate support and are trusted community members; they can be particularly important for families from historically marginalized racial and ethnic groups.
Community partners BLKBRY, Global Perinatal Services, and Open Arms Perinatal Services formed the group, and provided no-cost doula care to Black birthing parents at UW Medical Center – Montlake. Researchers followed parents and infants from April 2025 through December 2025 to understand the impact of culturally relevant doula services on health outcomes.
Learnings from the pilot will help inform how to recruit, train, and retain doulas from Black communities.
Healthy Youth Central Area Network (HYCAN)
We started working with HYCAN to build evidence and demonstrate outcomes from programs supporting healthy youth development. One of HYCAN’s popular programs explores the protective and healthy behaviors that young people can strengthen and explore through hip-hop. HLI’s team of affiliate researchers are conducting an outcomes assessment on this programming to contribute to the evidence-based foundation of the hip-hop program.
HYCAN is a coalition of organizations serving the Central District area of Seattle, all with the shared focus on youth development and strengthening families. In addition to research focused on the hip-hop program, HLI also supports the broader HYCAN coalition by facilitating a convening for the leaders of these community-based organizations to explore opportunities for deeper collaboration.
By creating space for community leaders to connect and identify opportunities for collaboration, HLI aims to provide resources that enhance the coalition’s capacity for strategic coordination.