Diverse Voices: Intersectionality and the Health of Women
Date and Time
– January 30, 2025, 4:00 PM ESTSave the Date.
The January 2025 session of Diverse Voices: Intersectionality and the Health of Women is titled “Reaching Rural Women: Implications for Research on Pregnancy.” The session will feature presentations by Kara Whitaker, Ph.D., M.P.H. and Karina Shreffler, Ph.D.
Dr. Whitaker will present on “Rural Health Inequities in Lifestyle Behaviors and Psychosocial Factors in Pregnancy” and Dr. Shreffler will present on “Data Challenges and Resources for Rural and Tribal Maternal Health.”
 | Kara Whitaker, Ph.D., M.P.H. Associate Professor; Director of Graduate Studies – Health and Human Physiology University of Iowa Dr. Whitaker will share her research on the Pregnancy 24/7 Study, a large, multi-site cohort study examining associations between 24-hour activity (physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. She will talk about the design and implementation of this study, describe preliminary findings examining inequities in health behaviors (24-hour activity and diet) and psychosocial factors between rural and urban pregnant women, and discuss public health implications of this work to address rural maternal health disparities. |
 | Karina Shreffler, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Research, Scholarship, and Ph.D. Studies; Professor and Fran and Earl Ziegler Endowed Chair in Nursing Research University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Dr. Shreffler is the Fran and Earl Ziegler Endowed Chair in Nursing Research in the Fran and Earl Ziegler College of Nursing at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences. She will share her work with the Center for Indigenous Resilience, Culture, and Maternal Health Equity (CIRCLE), a Maternal Health Research Center of Excellence funded through the NIH Implementing a Maternal health and PRegnancy Outcomes Vision for Everyone (IMPROVE) initiative, and discuss a study linking publicly-available de-identified electronic health records of pregnancy-related diagnoses, geocoded locations of hospitals providing maternal care, social determinants of health, and demographics, to enable a county-level investigation of geographic barriers of care. The linked data will be made publicly available to enable improvements in research, outreach, and healthcare delivery to understudied, underrepresented, and underreported (U3) women, according to their geographic residence and proximity to care. |
Sign language interpreting services are available upon request. Individuals who need interpreting services and/or other reasonable accommodations to participate in this event should contact Liz Schott. Requests should be made at least five business days in advance.