National Survey Research Consultant: Women's Heart Health

About WomenHeart

WomenHeart: The National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease is a national patient-centered organization solely dedicated to advancing the heart health of the millions of American women living with or at risk of heart disease, the leading cause of death for women. Founded in 1999 by three women heart attack survivors, WomenHeart advances its mission through advocacy, community education, and the only national patient support network for women living with heart disease. Our mission is to improve the lives of women with or at risk for heart disease while fighting for equity in heart health.

Project Background and Purpose

In 2026, WomenHeart is launching Treat Me Right 2.0, the continuation of a national initiative focused on improving diagnosis and care for women with heart disease. As part of this effort, we will conduct a national survey to better understand barriers to timely diagnosis, access to guideline-aligned care, and patient-provider communication—particularly among communities experiencing disparities (e.g., rural populations, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals). Findings will inform program development, advocacy, and engagement with healthcare systems and policymakers.

The survey will focus on adult women living with or at risk of cardiovascular disease in the United States, with particular emphasis on women who have experienced challenges obtaining a timely diagnosis or accessing evidence-based cardiovascular care. WomenHeart is especially interested in ensuring representation from communities that experience disparities in cardiovascular care, including rural populations, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other underserved populations. The consultant will recommend final inclusion criteria and sampling strategies to achieve the project objectives.

Scope of Work

The consultant will lead all phases of survey design, implementation, and analysis, ensuring methodological rigor, inclusivity in recruitment, and actionable outputs aligned with WomenHeart’s programmatic and advocacy goals.

Survey Development: The consultant will collaborate with WomenHeart staff and a Steering Committee (including Champions and partners) to design a survey instrument that reflects key priorities and research questions.

• Facilitate structured input sessions to identify priority themes and refine research questions
• Advise on sampling strategy and recommended sample size to support meaningful analysis across key populations, considering project goals, feasibility, and budget.
• Develop the survey instrument, including core questions aligned with project goals and appropriate demographic and segmentation variables.
• Recommend survey length, structure, and format to support completion and data quality • Advise on language access, including the feasibility and cost of offering the survey in Spanish, and other languages, as recommended, to support participation among priority populations.
• Conduct testing with a small group of participants to ensure survey questions are clear, understandable, and interpreted as intended, and refine the survey as needed.
• Prepare all study documentation necessary to support Institutional Review Board (IRB) review or exemption determination, including the study protocol, survey instrument, consent language, and any other required materials. WomenHeart will serve as the submitting organization and is responsible for obtaining the IRB determination.

Participant Recruitment: The consultant will design and implement a recruitment strategy to ensure diverse and representative participation.

• Develop and oversee implementation of a recruitment strategy, including identifying and managing recruitment vendors or online research panels as appropriate.
• Ensure diversity across geography, race/ethnicity, age, and care experiences.

Survey Implementation:

• Program and deploy the survey using an appropriate survey platform, identifying any required platform or licensing costs within the proposed budget.
• Monitor response rates and adjust recruitment strategies as needed
• Ensure data quality, completeness, and integrity throughout the process

Data Analysis and Reporting:

• Conduct quantitative analysis and segment findings by key populations, with attention to disparities and care experiences.
• Synthesize findings into key themes and actionable insights, and prepare materials tailored to internal teams, partners, and external stakeholders.
• Present findings to WomenHeart staff and stakeholder groups as needed.

Working Structure and Internal Collaboration: The consultant will operate as a strategic partner embedded with WomenHeart's internal team. Key relationships include:

• Day-to-day partner: WomenHeart's Director of Programs and Impact, who will serve as the primary internal point of contact, coordinate scheduling and access to stakeholders, and support implementation.
• Engagement with leadership: Regular check-ins with the Director and periodic updates to the WomenHeart staff at key milestones.

Implementation Support and Capacity Building:

• Provide a phased implementation roadmap with priorities, owners, timelines, and resource requirements.
• Recommend how WomenHeart can operationalize survey findings, including a prioritized set of recommendations and metrics for tracking progress on key disparities over time.

Anticipated Deliverables

At a minimum, the consultant will produce:

1. Final survey instrument and all supporting survey materials (e.g., programming files, codebook, recruitment materials, as applicable)
2. Clean, de-identified dataset and accompanying codebook
3. Comprehensive analytic report summarizing key findings, including analyses by priority populations, identification of disparities, and actionable recommendations at the individual, community, and systems levels
4. Executive summary highlighting key findings and recommendations for broad dissemination
5. Presentation slides summarizing survey findings
6. Presentation of findings to WomenHeart staff and key stakeholders

Qualifications

WomenHeart is seeking a consultant (individual or firm) that demonstrates:

• Experience in public health, health services research, or related field
• Experience translating research findings into actionable recommendations for programs, advocacy, or policy. •
• Experience facilitating stakeholder engagement (e.g., advisory groups, steering committees).
• Demonstrated success with mission-driven organizations — ideally nonprofits in health, patient advocacy, or women's health.
• Experience translating scientific or medical content into clear, audience-ready communications.
• Experience working with small, lean nonprofit teams in a collaborative, capacity-building manner.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, project management, and facilitation skills.