2023 Penn Nursing / Aspen Institute Women’s Health Conference
Dean Antonia Villarruel

2023 Penn Nursing / Aspen Institute Women’s Health Conference

Penn Nursing, in collaboration with the Aspen Institute, hosted a half-day program that explored women and health, with a lens on areas that require further attention as well as the policies and initiatives that can help move us forward.

Black Maternal Morbidity and Mortality - Beyond the WHY!

Black Maternal Morbidity and Mortality - Beyond the WHY!

We know why Black women and babies are dying during or after childbirth. Hear from a panel of dynamic birth workers and researchers who center the traditions of the reproductive and birth justice movements while discussing best practices and next steps in increasing the birth outcomes of Black mothers.

Renfield Award Impact Talk: Dr. Vandana Gopikumar

Renfield Award Impact Talk: Dr. Vandana Gopikumar

Dr. Vandana Gopikumar, the 2018 awardee of the Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health, in a discussion moderated by Alison Ercole, MSN, BA, CRNP, PMHNP-BC, shared about the impact the award has had on her work.  Dr. Gopikumar is the Co-Founder of The Banyan and The Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health, a nonprofit with the goal of promoting equitable mental health amongst socially disadvantaged groups, within a social justice framework. Watch the April 4, 2023 recording here.

Opening Doors - Center for Global Women’s Health Updates

Opening Doors - Center for Global Women’s Health Updates

The Center for Global Women’s Health presented an update to inform about the Center’s recent initiatives, dialogue about collective endeavors, and discuss opportunities for collaboration. Also presenting were two Penn Nursing faculty members, Laura Starbird, PhD, RN and Melanie Kornides, ScD, RN, FNP-BC, who shared how they are actively addressing the Center’s strategic priority areas through their research and scholarship. Watch the March 28, 2023 recording here.

Racism, Midwifery and Healthcare

Racism, Midwifery and Healthcare

In recognition of Black Maternal Health Week and National Minority Health Month, Dr. Lucinda Canty presented a comprehensive overview of the midwifery practice within a historical context. In her presentation, Dr. Canty also examined the issue of racism and its impact on the provision of prenatal care and delivery.  Watch the March 30, 2023 recording here.

From Congress to the Vatican: The Promotion of Maternal-Fetal Surgery & Perinatal Palliative Care as Alternatives to Abortion Care

From Congress to the Vatican: The Promotion of Maternal-Fetal Surgery & Perinatal Palliative Care as Alternatives to Abortion Care

As a clinician, Dr. Abigail Wilpers has cared for pregnant people and families facing their greatest fear - the loss of a normal pregnancy and the possibility of going home without a child. As a researcher, she explores how models of care, social determinants of health, and patients’ experiences connect to care quality and health outcomes.

Penn Nursing Center for Global Women’s Health Announces the Appointment of Cathy L. Hawkes to its Advisory Board.

Penn Nursing Center for Global Women’s Health Announces the Appointment of Cathy L. Hawkes to its Advisory Board.

The Center for Global Women’s Health (CGWH), announces the appointment of Catherine L. Hawkes, HUP’74, NU’76, GNU’80 to its Advisory Board for a three-year term, effective February 1, 2023. As an advisory board member, Ms. Hawkes will provide strategic advice to the Afaf I. Meleis Director of the CGWH and the Senior Director of Women’s Health Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania and serve as an ambassador and spokesperson for the Center. The volunteer CGWH Advisory Board will be comprised of nine experts and advocates.

Art and the Sexual Violence Healing Journey

Art and the Sexual Violence Healing Journey

The “red zone” refers to the period from mid-August to November when new students are most vulnerable to sexual assaults. Katherine Cambareri, MPH and Laura Sinko, PhD are public health practitioners and artists who use their talents to depict the healing journey of sexual assault victims/survivors.

Frida Kahlo: Where Art History & Nursing Methods Collide

Frida Kahlo: Where Art History & Nursing Methods Collide

Dr. Siobhan Conaty works in the Health Humanities, an interdisciplinary field that brings the practice of the arts and humanities into the study of the health sciences. Using Frida Kahlo as a case study, she demonstrated how studying art history and applying its methods can help enhance nursing education and improve clinical practice.

Freedom of Choice - A Dialogue About Abortion

Freedom of Choice - A Dialogue About Abortion

The Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe vs Wade. What does that mean for women, families and communities? What role do elected officials play in deciding the reproductive rights of their constituents? These decisions impact individuals, human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy, have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and sustainable communities.

Supporting BIPOC Women Experiencing Fertility Challenges: What Nurses Need to Know

Supporting BIPOC Women Experiencing Fertility Challenges: What Nurses Need to Know

With support from the Center for Global Women’s Health, three Penn Nursing student organizations - NSRH, MNO, and SNAP - hosted Jillian Baker, DrPH, EdM and Sinora Allwood, RN, from A Tribe Called Fertility, for an informative discussion about women’s infertility.  The discussion was moderated by Dr. Monique Howard, Senior Director of Women’s Health Initiatives, for the Center for Global Women’s Health.  Access the November 19, 2021 recording here.

The Fourth Trimester and Beyond: The Case for Broad Investments in Maternal and Child Health

The Fourth Trimester and Beyond: The Case for Broad Investments in Maternal and Child Health

The New York Fed, in collaboration with NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Low Income Investment Fund, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, hosted a virtual event on maternal health on September 15, 2021. Dean Antonia Villarruel served as an expert panelist for this event, outlining for providers, policymakers, funders, and healthcare leaders some of the critical structural barriers facing women and birthing people during the 4th trimester.  Access the full recording here.

New Appointment in Penn Nursing’s Center for Global Women’s Health

New Appointment in Penn Nursing’s Center for Global Women’s Health

Monique Howard, EdD, MPH, has been appointed the inaugural Senior Director of Women’s Health Initiatives. This new position will work to heighten visibility and strengthen both research and programming that originates out of the Center for Global Women’s Health (CGWH).

Investing in Women’s Mental Health, a new paper by Foxwell, Kennedy & Naylor

Investing in Women’s Mental Health, a new paper by Foxwell, Kennedy & Naylor

In a new commentary, predoctoral students Anessa Foxwell and Erin Kennedy, and NewCourtland Center director Mary Naylor, discuss the urgent need to address mental health challenges experienced by women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reducing Maternal Mortality: Harnessing Multilevel Approaches to Reduce Maternal Death

Reducing Maternal Mortality: Harnessing Multilevel Approaches to Reduce Maternal Death

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Center for Global Women’s Health and national maternal health experts from nursing, midwifery, medicine, public health, policy, and advocacy held a virtual conference to explore multilevel approaches to reducing maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Access the April 29, 2021 recording here.

Soad Hussein Hassan Global Scholar Lecture featuring Christina Lamb

Soad Hussein Hassan Global Scholar Lecture featuring Christina Lamb

On April 8, 2021, in recognition of International Women’s Day and Sexual Assault Awareness month, the Center for Global Women’s Health and the office of Global Health Affairs presented the Soad Hussein Hassan Global Scholar Lecture featuring Christina Lamb, author of Our Bodies, Their Battlefield:  What War Does to Women.  Christina gives voice to women in conflict, exposing the world’s most neglected war crime— the use of rape in modern warfare as a weapon to humiliate, terrify, and carry out ethnic cleansing.