Jeannette R. Ickovics is an American health and social

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how indi ...

. She is the inaugural Samuel and Liselotte Herman Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the

Yale School of Public Health The Yale School of Public Health (YSPH) was founded in 1915 by Charles-Edward Amory Winslow and is one of the oldest public health masters programs in the United States. It is consistently rated among the best schools of public health in the cou ...

and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

. She was the Founding Chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences at the

and Founding Director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE). She served as the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of Faculty at

Yale-NUS College Yale-NUS College is a liberal arts college in Singapore. Established in 2011 as a collaboration between Yale University and the National University of Singapore, it was the first liberal arts college in Singapore and one of the first few in Asi ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

from 2018-2021. Professor Ickovics is a dedicated teacher, mentor and scholar. She led a

US National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

transdisciplinary Transdisciplinarity connotes a research strategy that crosses many disciplinary boundaries to create a holistic approach. It applies to research efforts focused on problems that cross the boundaries of two or more disciplines, such as research o ...

training grant to invest in the next generation of

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

s to advance prevention

research Research is "creativity, creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular att ...

in general and with regard to

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...

risk reduction specifically. Her research investigates the interplay of complex biomedical, behavioural, social and psychological factors that influence individual and community health. She has worked in the areas of maternal-child health,

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental health ...

, and multi-sector approaches to

chronic disease A chronic condition is a health condition or disease that is persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time. The term ''chronic'' is often applied when the course of the disease lasts for more than three mo ...

prevention. Dedicated to social justice, equity, inclusion and diversity, she uses this lens to examine challenges faced by those often marginalised by the

healthcare system Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profess ...

and by

society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Socie ...

. She has expertise running large, scientifically rigorous

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

s in

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, tow ...

settings. Her community-engaged research – funded with more than US$40 million in grants from the

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgi ...

, and foundations – is characterised by methodological rigour and cultural sensitivity. She is author of more than 200

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

publications. Ickovics was elected as Fellow of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and the

American Psychological Association The American Psychological Association (APA) is the largest scientific and professional organization of psychologists in the United States, with over 133,000 members, including scientists, educators, clinicians, consultants, and students. It ha ...

and is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Strickland-Daniel Mentoring Award from the

Research

Ickovics and her colleagues developed, implemented and evaluated the first standardized curricula for group prenatal care and published the first randomized controlled trials of CenteringPregnancy, now implemented in more than 500 clinical settings -2 This research has been cited as foundational for group prenatal care with special populations such as refugees, teens, military populations, pregnant women with chronic diseases including diabetes and HIV, and high-risk pregnant women – especially Black women with a focus on reducing racial and health disparities -4 Group prenatal care is associated with a lower prevalence of preterm birth, low birthweight, small for gestational age, and neonatal intensive care (NICU) utilization .g., 5-10 Group prenatal care also has been associated with improved maternal mental health, breastfeeding, optimal pregnancy weight gain and improved postpartum weight loss, better birth spacing, lower sexual risk, and higher patient satisfaction .g., 10-16 In addition, Ickovics and her colleagues have made substantial contributions to public health’s understanding of the influence of the social and environmental factors that contribute to poor health outcomes. CARE (Community Alliance for Research and Engagement) works directly with neighbourhood residents and leaders to form local partnerships, empower residents, identify challenges, and provide resources to promote wellness through action 7-18 They have conducted collaborative interventions to improve community/population health. For example, in partnership with the New Haven Public Schools and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, they conducted a randomized controlled trial documenting how school-based policies could reduce risk and improve outcomes related to obesity, chronic disease and academic achievement 9-20

References

1. Ickovics JR, Lewis JB, Cunningham SD, et al. Transforming prenatal care: Multidisciplinary team science improves a broad range of maternal-child outcomes. American Psychologist. 2019; 19:120. . PMID 31023259 2. Rising SS, Quimby C. ''The CenteringPregnancy model: The power of group healthcare.'' New York: Springer; 2017. 3. Carter EB, Temming LA, Akin J, et al. Group prenatal care compared with traditional prenatal care: A systematic review and meta-analysis. ''Obstetrics & Gynecology.'' 2016;128(3):551-561. 4. Byerley BM, Haas DM. A systematic overview of the literature regarding group prenatal care for high-risk pregnant women. ''BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth.'' 2017;17(1):329. 5. Cunningham SD, Lewis JB, Shebl FM, et al. Group prenatal care reduces risk of preterm birth and low birth weight: A matched cohort study. ''Journal of Women's Health.'' 2019;28(1):17-22. 6. Ickovics JR, Kershaw TS, Westdahl C, et al. Group prenatal care and perinatal outcomes: A randomized controlled trial. ''Obstetrics & Gynecology.'' 2007;110(2 Pt 1):330-339. 7. Gareau S, Lòpez-De Fede A, Loudermilk BL, et al. Group prenatal care results in Medicaid savings with better outcomes: A propensity score analysis of CenteringPregnancy participation in South Carolina. ''Maternal & Child Health Journal.'' 2016;20(7):1384-1393. 8. Crockett AH, Heberlein EC, Smith JC, Ozluk P, Covington-Kolb S, Willis C. Effects of a multi-site expansion of group prenatal care on birth outcomes. ''Maternal and Child Health Journal.'' 2019;23(10):1424-1433. 9. Ickovics JR, Earnshaw V, Lewis JB, et al. Cluster randomized controlled trial of group prenatal care: Perinatal outcomes among adolescents in New York City health centers. ''American Journal of Public Health.'' 2016;106(2):359-365. 10. Felder JN, Epel E, Lewis JB, et al. Depressive symptoms and gestational length among pregnant adolescents: Cluster randomized control trial of CenteringPregnancy® Plus group prenatal care. ''Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology.'' 2017;85(6):574-584. 11. Ickovics JR, Reed E, Magriples U et al. Effects of group prenatal care on psychosocial risk in pregnancy: Results from a randomised controlled trial. ''Psychology & Health.'' 2011;26(2):235-250. 12. Tubay AT, Mansalis KA, Simpson MJ, et al. The effects of group prenatal care on infant birthweight and maternal well-being: A randomized controlled trial. ''Military Medicine.'' 2019;184(5-6):e440-e446. 13. Trotman G, Chhatre G, Darolia R, Tefera E, Damle L, Gomez-Lobo V. The effect of Centering Pregnancy versus traditional prenatal care models on improved adolescent health behaviors in the perinatal period. ''Journal of Pediatrics & Adolescent Gynecology.'' 2015;28(5):395-401. 14. Magriples U, Boynton MH, Kershaw TS, et al. The impact of group prenatal care on pregnancy and postpartum weight trajectories. ''American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.'' 2015;213(5):688. e681-688. e689. 15. Kershaw TS, Magriples U, Westdahl C, Rising SS, Ickovics J. Pregnancy as a window of opportunity for HIV prevention: Effects of an HIV intervention delivered within prenatal care. ''American Journal of Public Health.'' 2009;99(11):2079-2086. 16. DeCesare JZ, Hannah D, Amin R. Postpartum contraception use rates of patients participating in the Centering Pregnancy model of care versus traditional obstetrical care. ''Journal of Reproductive Medicine.'' 2017;62(1-2):45-49. 17. Bromage W, Santilli A & Ickovics JR. Organizing Communities to Benefit Public Health. American Journal of Public Health. 2015;105:1965-1966. PMCID:PMC45665665. 18. Carroll-Scott A, Rosenthal L, Gilstad-Hayden K, Ickovics JR. Disentangling Neighborhood Contextual Associations with Child Body Mass Index, Diet and Physical Activity: The Role of Built, Socioeconomic, and Social Environments. Social Science & Medicine. 2013;95:106-114. PMCID:PMC4058500 19. Ickovics JR, Duffany KO, Shebl F, Read M, Peters S, Schwartz M. Implementing school-based policies to prevent obesity: Cluster randomized trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2019;56:e1-e11. 20. Ickovics JR, Carroll-Scott A, Gilstad-Hayden K, Schwartz M, Peters S, McCaslin C. Health and Academic Achievement: Cumulative Effects of Health Assets on Standardized Test Scores among Urban Youth in the United States. Journal of School Health. 2014;84:40-48. PMCID:PMC4058503

External links

Link to faculty pageLink to research lab websiteLink to published works
American women epidemiologists American epidemiologists American women psychologists Muhlenberg College alumni George Washington University alumni Yale University faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Living people {{US-med-bio-stub