Women's Health Archives

Nadja Vielot, PhD, was recently awarded a four-year K01 grant totaling over $620K by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The grant, "Developing and piloting an intervention to reduce human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination disparities in rural adolescents," aims to improve HPV vaccination rates in rural North Carolinians to reduce the drastic urban-rural disparities in HPV cancer incidence and mortality.

Perinatal mental illness is a leading cause of death during pregnancy and the first postpartum year in the U.S. Alison Stuebe, MD, MSc, professor of maternal fetal medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the UNC School of Medicine, authored a study with colleagues on how a holistic approach comprising seven domains can foster conditions for women and birthing people to thrive.

Assistant Professor of Family Medicine Jesus Ruiz, MD, published an article in Annals of Family Medicine addressing the community impact of UNC Chatham Hospital’s Maternity Care Center, titled “Closing the Gap: How a Community Effort Can Improve Rural Maternity Care.”

Mara Buchbinder, PhD, professor of social medicine, and colleagues at the UNC School of Medicine and Harvard University surveyed obstetrician-gynecologists in 13 states with functional abortion bans to document the impacts on healthcare staff.

Hendrée Jones, PhD, senior advisor of the UNC Horizons Program, was recently elected as chair of the Women & Substance Use Disorders Special Interest Group for the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM).

Margaret Kasaro, MMed OBGYN, and others at the UNC School of Medicine and UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health have received a ~$3-million award from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to improve access to portable ultrasounds in routine antenatal care in Zambia.

The project will focus on workflows to increase the timeliness and comprehensiveness of postpartum care, a virtual maternal-fetal medicine specialty consultation service including e-consult and telehealth capability for women with high-risk conditions served at rural community health centers, and support for community doula training and the development of a community doula collaborative in rural Chatham County.

Springer recently released "Chronic Illness Care, Principles and Practice," edited by UNC Family Medicine's Timothy P. Daaleman, DO, MPH, and Margaret R. Helton, MD. Faculty members in the Department of Family Medicine, faculty across the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, and other national and international experts wrote the textbook.

Coinciding with National Women’s Health Week, the UNC Center for Women's Health Research launched its third Women’s Health Research Poster Presentation and Awards Program showcasing research being done by faculty and staff, graduate and undergraduate students, and postdocs, including residents and fellows, of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Jennifer S. Smith, PhD, at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC School of Medicine, and UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, led the phase 3 controlled trial, which showed that self-collection kits and scheduling assistance are key for reaching these populations and preventing cervical cancer.

The study, which was conducted at UNC-Chapel Hill between 2016 and 2022, concluded that metformin use did not reduce risks for adverse neonatal outcomes in pregnancies with type 2 diabetes. The study findings were reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine in February.

A research collaboration between clinical and preclinical investigators in the Department of Psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine, led by Leslie Morrow, PhD, found that a drug for post-partum depression works by inhibiting systemic inflammatory pathways.

Category: Women’s Health

Vielot Receives K01 Grant to Reduce HPV Vaccination Disparities

Researchers Demonstrate How Vital Conditions Enable Perinatal Well-Being

Ruiz Highlights Community Efforts at UNC Chatham Hospital in Improving Rural Maternity Care

Researchers Document Health Provider Impacts from Post-Dobbs Abortion Bans

Jones Elected as Chair of Women & Substance Use Disorders Special Interest Group for the American Society of Addiction Medicine

Researchers Awarded Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant to Implement Portable Ultrasound in Zambia

Partnership with Piedmont Health Services Aims to Address Maternal Mortality Crisis

UNC Department of Family Medicine Authors Second Edition of Chronic Illness Care Textbook

Women’s Health Poster Presentation & Awards Program Available Now

HPV Self-Collection Kits Increase Screening Among Under-screened, Under-served Women in North Carolina

Metformin Combined with Insulin Does Not Reduce Pregnancy Outcome Risks Compared to Placebo

Researchers Uncover Mechanisms of Brexanolone and the Role of Inflammation in Post-partum Depression