The staff that support the Maternal Mortality Review Committee (MMRC) are essential to the functioning and sustainability of the review.
Case Abstractors
Case abstraction is the most time- and resource-intensive part of administering a MMRC. It requires an extensive amount of training. MMRCs should have one or more clinically trained case abstractors with a standing position on the committee rather than a rotating role. Learn more about considerations for hiring case abstractors.
Committee Chair
Committee chairs provide overall leadership to the committee. Responsibilities may include the following:
- Facilitating case presentation and review, including participation of all committee members
- Identifying, addressing, and preventing bias during case review
- Ensuring development of data-driven recommendations
- Serving as committee representative at conferences and stakeholder meetings
Committee Coordinator
Coordinators might take on some facilitation and agenda-setting responsibilities for review committee meetings. They may meet with case abstractors to prioritize cases and review the status of a case sent for abstraction. Coordinators also ensure key committee documents, such as the policies and procedures and new member orientation materials, are updated and implemented.
Epidemiologists and Data Analysts
These staff members provide data analysis support for multiple stages of the review process. This might include identifying quality and validity issues among vital records or other case abstraction data sources. They analyze data from the review process, including qualitative and quantitative data, and support geographic or spatial analysis for the development of committee reports or other products. In most cases, these individuals are not exclusively dedicated to the review but assist the review among their other job duties.
Database Managers and IT
Individuals with IT knowledge and experience can help the MMRC by ensuring that the data strategy of the MMRC, including use of MMRIA, adheres to the jurisdiction’s data management and security policies.
