Melanie Baca is an Associate Professor and Family Medicine physician at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Baca is particularly invested in adolescent reproductive health, the prevention of unintended pregnancy, and health disparities related to these issues. Following residency, she contributed to the development of an Adolescent Medicine Fellowship focused on reproductive health within her ...Read more >

Marquitta Dorsey is an Assistant Professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Social Work. She received her PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, a Master’s of Social Work from the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, a Master’s of Business Administration from American Intercontinental University, ...Read more >

Tosin Ariyo is a community health scientist and women’s health advocate dedicated to addressing health disparities in underserved communities. Her work is focused on facilitating health improvements that prioritize women’s health independent of their maternal status. As a Research Director at East Tennessee State University, Tosin leads the process evaluation of a statewide contraceptive access ...Read more >

Mifepristone followed by misoprostol is a safe, highly effective (> 95%) method for medical termination of early pregnancy. New data reveals that administering mifepristone prior to misoprostol also has superior efficacy than misoprostol alone in the treatment of miscarriage, and practice recommendations have been updated to reflect this practice. Despite its safety and efficacy, few ...Read more >

Background: Quality assurance and improvement in healthcare relies on performance measurement. Up until recently, there were no performance measures related to reproductive health and contraceptive provision. The Office of Population Affairs (OPA) developed and validated claims-based performance measures for contraceptive care, aimed at addressing unintended pregnancy. In 2016, the National Quality Forum (NQF) endorsed these ...Read more >

Rationale: The Los Angeles (LA) homelessness crisis continues to worsen with the current estimate of 60,000 homeless individuals expected to rise annually and women make up one-third of this population. Homeless women live in a unique sociocultural context that warrants in-depth exploration of sexual and reproductive (SRH) behaviors and needs, focusing on the variations in ...Read more >

This study will consist of in-depth interviews with adolescents with chronic disease (ACD) and their parents. It will explore the ACD-parent dyad and how contraception is currently addressed within context of both the functioning dyad and overall disease management. It aims to identify if there are factors influencing knowledge, use of, and attitudes toward contraception ...Read more >

Cervical preparation with osmotic dilators is commonly used prior to dilation and evacuation procedures to decrease the risk of complications. Women have described the pain of dilator insertion as moderate to severe yet there have been few studies aimed at addressing pain during and after dilator insertion. This study will be a randomized controlled trial ...Read more >

To explore the contraceptive use patterns in a national sample of transgender individuals. To develop a community advisor board to define reproductive health priorities for transgender individuals in Michigan and develop gender-sensitive best practices for approaching these research topics.

We propose to conduct a cross-sectional study of general obstetrician-gynecologists (OBGYNs) who care for patients with EPL. We will recruit OBGYNs who practice at academic medical centers and invite them to complete a quantitative survey designed to assess current EPL practice along with barriers and readiness to implement those management options not currently in place. ...Read more >