Health Services Research
Under the leadership of Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH, the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology has strengthened its focus on research and patient engagement projects, which provide research and training opportunities for residents and students. Projects are guided by the principle that research done in an interdisciplinary manner yields more valuable and insightful information. Most health service research projects are implemented in collaboration with UC Irvine’s main campus, UC medical centers, patient stakeholders and community-based organizations.
Studies provide medical students meaningful experiences in patient-oriented outcome, implementation and dissemination research. The Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology serves as an internship site for UC Irvine Master of Public Health students. It has sponsored several undergraduate teams as part of the UC Irvine Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and its Biological Sciences 199 – Family Planning Research lab.
For more information, contact Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH, Dorothy J. Marsh Chair in Reproductive Biology and Vice Chair of Research, Obstetrics and Gynecology, at hthiel@hs.uci.edu.
PI: Afshan Hameed, MD, MBA, FACC, FACOG
The cardio-obstetric program at UC Irvine combines the expertise of maternal-fetal medicine specialists, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, neonatologists and nurses who are integral to providing comprehensive care to pregnant patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD).
The cardio-obstetric program is a comprehensive diagnostic program designed to enhance the diagnosis and timely intervention of CVD among pregnant and postpartum women. UC Irvine’s cardio-obstetric research team collaborates with Montefiore Medical Center, the University of Tennessee, the University of California, San Diego, and St. Luke Hospital System, Missouri, who have integrated the CVD clinical decision algorithm into electronic health systems. Our quality measure, “CVD Risk Assessment Measure: Proportion of Pregnant/Postpartum Patients Who Receive CVD Risk Assessment with a Standardized Tool,” was included in the 2024 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Merit-based Incentive Payment Value Pathways (Quality ID: 496). Additional research evaluates the positive predictive value of the algorithm tool to determine its accuracy and reliability in identifying pregnant and postpartum women at risk of CVD. The program is funded by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Diagnostic Excellence Initiative and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Find out more about the program
PI: Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH
UC Irvine and other University of California campuses created the Refugee Reproductive Health Network (ReproNet) in 2019 to engage in dialogue with refugee women and communities to increase awareness and normalize conversations about reproductive health issues. The network serves as a hub for students, advocates, refugee women and researchers working to integrate refugee women’s health issues and concerns into their research, events and programs. In addition to its reproductive health training program, ReproNet created a digital library with curated health education resources in Arabic, Dari and Pashto for refugees, and resources for providers who want to use these materials in individual or group health education settings. ReproNet has received funding from the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the National Library of Medicine and private donations.
PI: Candice Taylor Lucas, MD, MPH
Ob/Gyn Co-investigators include Carol Major, MD; Tamera J. Hatfield, MD, PhD; Elena Rhoads-Baeza, MD, PhD; and Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH.
Funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, under the Healthy Families Community-Based Perinatal Health Initiative, the Black PEARL (Promoting Equity Anti-Racism and Love) Model: Systemic Integration of Community Maternal Support Services was created to address the need for integrated care systems supporting a BIPOC community-based doula workforce in Orange County and to establish systemic integrated care with UCI Health, the only academic health center in the county. Leveraging established community-academic partnerships, the Black PEARL project team will:
- Develop an innovative model for integrating community-based maternal support services into perinatal care at an academic medical center to optimize birth outcomes for BIPOC birthing patients in Orange County.
- Realize health equity by improving birth outcomes for BIPOC birthing patients and infants.
- Increase community-based support services for early identification of perinatal needs and connection to care for BIPOC patients at increased risk of morbidity and mortality.
PI: Tabetha Harken, MD
The multi-campus University of California Abortion Registry (UCAR) seeks to gain a better understanding of the association between high risk pregnancies and surgical abortion outcomes at tertiary care centers and provides research opportunities for Maternal Fetal Medicine and Complex Family Planning fellows.
PI: Heike Thiel de Bocanegra, PhD, MPH
Patient-Centered Outcome Institute Eugene Washington Engagement Award, 3/1/2020 – 2/28/2022
The study sought to inform patients and providers on evidence-based HPV testing and cervical cytology guidelines to provide improved shared decisions on cervical cancer screening and prevention in collaboration with the National Cervical Cancer Coalition/American Sexual Health Association, University of California, Los Angeles, and California Primary Care Association.
PI: Tabetha Harken, MD, MPH
Hoag Memorial Fund; 1/1/2020 – 6/30/2021
This study aimed to strengthen the delivery of compassionate care for extremely complicated pregnancies through (a) improved transition and follow-up care for Orange County’s uninsured and vulnerable population and (b) skill-building, values clarification training and implementation of a structured emotional support system for nurses who provide this emotionally demanding care.