PWHER is committed to improving the quality, access, and affordability of healthcare services for individuals at community, national and global levels using diverse research methods to address pressing policies and clinical questions.
The Program on Women's Healthcare Effectiveness Research (PWHER) is an interdisciplinary research group nested within the U-M Medical School Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, but whose members span the schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. PWHER counts the Institute on Women and Gender, Institute for Social Research, and Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation as partners.
The program draws physicians, nurses, faculty, staff, and students from across the University of Michigan and beyond, transcending disciplines and facilitating mentorships that nurture the growth of new generations of excellent researchers. PWHER is also proud to be the research home of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Fellowship in Complex Family Planning.
PWHER members are engaged in various projects and collaborations focused on health services research and reproductive health equity. Our current research focuses include abortion care, contraception, sexual and reproductive health-related behaviors, and health care and policy.
We meet weekly for one-hour sessions dedicated to health policy and reproductive health topics, peer review of research works in progress, didactics, and research methodology.
Mentorship stands out as one of our core values. We are dedicated to facilitating partnerships between our expert senior investigators and rising researchers of all levels. PWHER partners with numerous programs to mentor undergraduates, postgraduates, medical students, residents, and fellows in:
- Methods
- Policy
- Ethics
- Study design
- Statistics
- Modeling
- Personal and career goals
Our mentees come from diverse academic backgrounds, including Medicine, Public Health, Public Policy, Women's and Gender Studies, Economics, Law, Nursing, Sociology, and Anthropology, making our program a place where innovative ideas mature into excellent research that is collaborative and interdisciplinary.
Associate Chair, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Section Head, Research, Gynecology
