Dr. Deborah Karasek Research Publication: Perinatal Health and Healthcare Utilization During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr. Deborah Karasek, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, recently published research highlighting the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal health and healthcare utilization across the United States in the journal Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.
Dr. Karasek and her colleagues’ research explores the profound effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on perinatal health and access to healthcare, using the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System. By analyzing data from over 116,000 participants, this study not only provides evidence of increased challenges, such as prenatal depression and gestational complications during the pandemic, but also emphasizes the disproportionate impact on marginalized communities, advocating for targeted interventions to ensure health equity. Dr. Karasek’s findings invite us to examine the multiple ways in which the pandemic may have influenced pregnancy and childbirth and in the hopes of better preparing for and responding to public health emergencies.
This publication underscores the critical role of public health research in documenting the impact of periods of crisis, including political and economic change, on the well-being of families in our community.