PANDA: Preventing maternal ANaemia to avoid preterm Delivery and other Adverse outcomes

Key Facts

Funder: National Institute of Health Research 
Year: 2020-2025
Partners: NHS Blood & Transplant, Oxford University, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, University of Nottingham, Imperial College London, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
CBC Lead: Dr Fabiana Lorencatto
CBC researchers: Dr Elise Crayton

Up to a third of pregnant women develop anaemia caused by a lack of iron, increasing the risk of adverse outcomes for mother and baby, such as pre-mature and still birth. PANDA is a £2.4 million project funded by the National Institutes of Health Research (NIHR) Programme Grants scheme. It involves a multidisciplinary team of experts in haematology, obstetrics, midwifery, behavioural science, primary care, clinical trials, statistics, and health economics.  

The aim of this project is to improve maternal and infant outcomes by evaluating prevention of anaemia during pregnancy with oral-iron supplementation. 

The CBC will lead a mixed-methods study, applying behavioural science theories and frameworks to explore factors influencing the decision to take medications during pregnancy and adherence to oral-iron supplements. This will help inform the development of a behavioural intervention to support decision making and medication adherence, which will be delivered as part of a clinical trial to evaluate the effectiveness of oral iron in preventing maternal anaemia. The CBC will also lead the process evaluation conducted alongside the trial, exploring intervention fidelity, acceptability, and mechanisms of change.