October 8, 2021 

Tackling Maternal Health Equity to Achieve Maternal Health Justice in Illinois

 Virtual Meeting 

12:00 PM CT - 1:00 PM CT  

Follow-up Discussion (optional) 1:00 P.M. - 1:30 P.M. 

A confirmation is sent immediately upon registration with the virtual link for the day of the event, if you do not receive it, please contact us at iomcstaff@iomc.org. 

Complimentary - Open to all  

Post-Election-Persistent and worsening racial and ethnic disparities in severe maternal morbidity and mortality in the US are urgent public health concerns requiring innovative, sustainable solutions. The perinatal period, the time before and after birth, has important implications for a woman’s health and that of her child. Unfortunately, standard perinatal care fails to meet the needs of women from Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities, especially with consideration to the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) and the systemic racism that drive health disparities. 

By attending this session you will: 

• Learn the drivers of maternal health inequities
• Identify ways to advance maternal justice through implementation science
• Obtain ways to advance maternal justice through clinical care practices

Speaker

Melissa Simon, MD, MPH

Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology; Feinberg School of Medicine, Fellow of the Institute of Medicine of Chicago 

Dr. Simon's primary research interests are aimed at promoting health equity and eliminating health disparities among low income, medically underserved women across the lifespan. Integrating health services research with social epidemiologic models, Dr. Simon's research focuses on interventions (such as patient navigation and community health outreach workers) that aim to reduce and eliminate such disparities.

Dr. Simon holds the following roles and titles: 

-Vice Chair of Research, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

-George H. Gardner Professor of Clinical Gynecology

-Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Preventive Medicine and Medical Social Sciences

-Founder/Director, Center for Health Equity Transformation

-Founder/Director, Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative

-Northwestern University, Feinberg School of Medicine and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center

Dr. Simon  graduated from Rush Medical College, and was the Chief Resident at Yale University -Obstetrics and Gynecology. She also completed a Fellowship at Northwestern University in Family Planning and Reproductive Health and a mini-Fellowship Training in Geriatric Medicine at Johns Hopkins University. 

Recent research:

• Addressing Systemic Racism through Clinical Preventive Service Recommendations from the US Preventive Services Task Force

  Simon,M; Doubeni,CA; Simon,M; Krist,AH

  JAMA 2021 Jan; 1538-3598

  PMID: 33492333

• Development of a web tool to increase research literacy in underserved populations through public library partnerships.

  Simon,M; Simon,MA; O'Brian,CA; Tom,L; Wafford,QE; Mack,S; Mendez,SR; Nava,M; Dahdouh,R; Paul-Brutus,R; Carpenter,KH; Kern,B; Holmes,KL

  PMID: 33534794

• Public Libraries as Key Partners for Advancing Health Equity.

  Simon,M; Simon,MA; O'Brian,CA; Nava,M; Dahdouh,R; Wafford,QE; Mack,S; Holmes,KL

  American journal of public health 2021 Jan; 1541-0048

  PMID: 33326277

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Thank You to Our Sponsors 

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Sponsorship opportunity- download the sponsorship brochure here. 

Questions? Contact us at iomcstaff@iomc.org or call us at 312.709.2685.

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