UCB MCAH Publications

MCAH Publications

Use of Preferred Source of Contraception Among Users of the Pill, Patch, and Ring in the US

Gomez AM, Bennett AH, Schulte A, Arcara J, Stern L, Aina AD, Bardwell J, Cadena D, Chaudhri A, Davis L, Dehlendorf C, Frederiksen B, Jones E, Kavanaugh ML, Labiran C, McDonald-Mosley R, Pliska E, Rice WS, Valladares ES, Marshall C
2024

Importance: Individuals who use contraceptive pills, patches, and rings must frequently interact with the health care system for continued and consistent use. As options for obtaining these methods expand, better understanding contraceptive users' preferences for source of contraception can help facilitate access.

Objective: To describe use of preferred source of contraception and to understand associations between prior reproductive health care experiences and preference for traditional in-person sources vs alternative sources.

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Progress on Doula Access, Persistent Challenges, and Next Steps for Birth Equity

Marshall C, Kozhimannil KB
2024

Ensuring access to doula support for pregnant and birthing people in the United States should be a policy priority. Having support from a doula—a trained nonclinical birth worker who provides emotional, physical, and informational support during the perinatal period and for other reproductive health experiences—has been associated with positive health outcomes and high patient satisfaction. For decades, research has demonstrated that doula support during the perinatal period is associated with many desirable perinatal outcomes, including fewer unnecessary cesarean...

What Do Community Doulas Think About the Future of the Doula Workforce?

Darvish N, Gómez AM, Marshall C, McDonald R, Rouse L, Dinsmore L, Hecht H, Berhanu R, Rajan G, Sandhu J
2024

Introduction: Expanding access to doula care is a key strategy for improving the perinatal experiences and health outcomes of birthing people of color in the U.S. This study investigates the future of maternal healthcare in the U.S. from the perspective of doulas and highlights emerging technology and other opportunities related to strengthening the doula workforce.

Methods: The study recruited community doulas from 12 unique U.S. states, ensuring at least half of the doulas predominantly served communities of color. Doulas (N = 26) participated in...

Wanting to matter and learning to care: A neurodevelopmental window of opportunity for (Pro) social learning?

Dahl RE, Armstrong-Carter E, van den Bos W
2024

Wanting to matter-to feel socially recognized, appreciated, and capable of actions that benefit others-represents a fundamental motivation in human development. The motivational salience of mattering appears to increase in adolescence. Evidence suggests this is related to pubertal increases in the incentive salience for gaining social value and personal agency. This can provide a useful heuristic for understanding motivational proclivities (i.e. wanting to matter) that influence action-outcome learning as young adolescents are exploring and learning how to navigate increasingly...

Mediating effects of inequitable gender norms on intimate partner violence and contraceptive use in a cluster randomized control trial in Niger

Boyce SC, Minnis AM, Deardorff J, McCoy SI, Goin DE, Challa S, Johns NE, Aliou S, Brooks MI, Nouhou AM, Baker H, Silverman JG
2024

Previous research has demonstrated that the Reaching Married Adolescents intervention (RMA) was associated with changes in inequitable gender norms, intimate partner violence (IPV), and modern contraceptive use. This study seeks to understand if changes in inequitable gender norms mediate the RMA intervention's effects on contraceptive use and intimate partner violence (IPV). A four-arm cluster randomized control trial was conducted to evaluate effects of the RMA intervention (household visits, small groups, combination, control) on married adolescent girls and their husbands in...

Physical, Sexual, and Intimate Partner Violence Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse Individuals

Closson K, Boyce SC, Johns N, Inwards-Breland DJ, Thomas EE, Raj A
2024

Importance: Transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) communities experience disproportionate levels of violence, yet due to limitations in measuring TGD identity, few state-representative estimates are available.

Objective: To assess gender identity differences in experiences of violence among adults.

Design, setting, and participants: Cross-sectional data from the 2023 California Violence Experiences (CalVEX) survey, weighted to provide state-representative estimates, was used to assess associations between gender identity and...

Abolish I.C.E.: The Consequences of Immigration Enforcement Among Latinx/e Adolescents

Joel Rubio
2024

This article makes the public health case for abolishing ICE. Author Joel Rubio describes the negative impacts of immigration enforcement on Latinx/e adolescents and outlines the limitations of current state and local policies. He recommends ending the current U.S. approach to immigration enforcement and replacing it with a system that prioritizes the needs and safety of young people.

Clinician care priorities and practices in the fourth trimester: perspective from a California survey

Guendelman, S., Wang, S.X., Lahiff, M., Lurvey, L., Miller, H.E.
2024

Background: Professional societies such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) promote the idea that postpartum care is an ongoing process where there is adequate opportunity to provide services and support. Nonetheless, in practice, the guidelines ask clinicians to perform more clinical responsibilities than they might be able to do with limited time and resources.

Methods: We conducted an online survey among practicing obstetric clinicians (obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs), midwives, and family medicine...

Pubertal Timing Across Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Subgroups

Kubo, A., Acker, J., Aghaee, S., Kushi, L. H., Quesenberry, C. P., Jr, Greenspan, L. C., Srinivasan, S., Kanaya, A. M., & Deardorff, J.
2024

Importance: Earlier puberty is associated with adverse health outcomes, such as mental health issues in adolescence and cardiometabolic diseases in adulthood. Despite rapid growth of the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander populations in the US, limited research exists on their pubertal timing, potentially masking health disparities.

Objective: To examine pubertal timing among Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander children and adolescents by disaggregating ethnic subgroups.

Design, setting, and...

Waiting to start abortion: A qualitative exploration of narratives of waiting shared in a Reddit community for abortion post-Dobbs leak in 2022

Pleasants, E., Parham, L., Weidert, K., Anderson, E., Dolgins, E., Prata, N., Upadhyay, U. D., & Marshall, C.
2024

With the Dobbs leak introducing uncertainty about access and the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision in June of 2022 overturning the US constitutional right to abortion, delays in accessing desired abortion care are likely growing longer and more common. Timely research on people's experiences waiting to access abortion care is needed. Using data from an abortion subreddit (r/abortion), we analyzed posts that described waiting after having decided to terminate the pregnancy, either by having an in-clinic appointment or ordering medication(s) online for self-managed...