The Maternal Child Nurses Interest Group invites you to our next webinar "Disability and Perinatal Health: Understanding the perinatal health and health care experiences of women with disabilities in Ontario" on Wed March 10th from 7 - 830pm.
Women with disabilities experience significant health and social disparities. Recent data show that their pregnancy rates are increasing, demonstrating the need to understand their health outcomes and health care experiences in the perinatal period. In this presentation, we will share findings from a National Institutes of Health-funded study of the perinatal health and health care experiences of women with physical, sensory, and intellectual/developmental disabilities in Ontario. We will present findings from Ontario health administrative data on the preconception health characteristics and perinatal health outcomes of women with disabilities, compared to those without disabilities. To contextualize and understand these quantitative data, we will describe the perinatal care experiences and needs of women with disabilities, based on our interviews with 31 women with disabilities across Ontario who had recently given birth. By the end of this session, participants will be able to describe the importance of developing and implementing tailored resources and support for women with disabilities around the time of pregnancy.
Presenters: Hilary K. Brown, Lesley A. Tarasoff, and Momina Khan
Hilary K. Brown, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough andthe Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She is cross-appointed to the Temerty Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry and is an Adjunct Scientist at Women’s College Hospital and ICES. Dr. Brown holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Disability & Reproductive Health. Her research program uses epidemiologic methods to examine maternal and child health across the life course, with a particular focus on populations with disabilities and chronic disease.
Lesley A. Tarasoff, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the in the Department of Health and Society at the University of Toronto Scarborough and at the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. She holds a PhD in Public Health Sciences, with a specialization in women’s health, from the University of Toronto. Primarily using qualitative methods, her research explores the reproductive, perinatal, and mental health of often-stigmatized and marginalized women, notably women with disabilities and sexual minority women.
Momina Khan, BSc, is a Second Year Master of Public Health student at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. Her research interests are diverse but focus largely on reproductive and child health. Momina completed her first practicum under the supervision of Drs. Brown and Tarasoff, with a focus on the perinatal health care experiences of women with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
For more information please contact Susan Georgoussis, Chair, MCNIG susangeorgoussis@gmail.com