Jeannette R. Ickovics is an American health and social psychologist. She is the inaugural Samuel and Liselotte Herman Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health and Professor of Psychology at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Yale University. She was the Founding Chair of the Social and Behavioral Sciences at the Yale School of Public Health and the Founding Director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE). She served as the Dean of Faculty at Yale-NUS College in Singapore from 2018-2021.
Professor Ickovics is a dedicated teacher, mentor and scholar. She led a US National Institutes of Health transdisciplinary training grant to invest in the next generation of scientists to advance prevention research in general and with regard to HIV 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, and multi-sector approaches to chronic disease 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 and by society. She has expertise running large, scientifically rigorous clinical trials in community settings. Her community-engaged research – funded with more than US$40 million in grants from the US National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and foundations – is characterised by methodological rigour and cultural sensitivity. She is author of more than 200 peer-reviewed publications. Ickovics was elected as Fellow of the Academy of Behavioral Medicine Research and the American Psychological Association and is a recipient of numerous awards, including the Strickland-Daniel Mentoring Award from the American Psychological Association.
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 [1-2]. 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 [3-4]. Group prenatal care is associated with a lower prevalence of preterm birth, low birthweight, small for gestational age, and neonatal intensive care (NICU) utilization [e.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 [e.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 [17-18]. 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 [19-20].
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.