Jarlenski

Congratulations to Dr. Marian Jarlenski for a successful PCORI grant focused on improving pregnancy-related health outcomes. 

Alice Gao, Dr. Liz Krans, and Dr. Marian Jarlenski found that later diagnosis of opioid use disorder (OUD) in pregnancy among non-White/Hispanic women partially explains the disparities in medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) receipt in this population. Universal substance use screening earlier in pregnancy, combined with connecting patients to evidence-based and culturally competent care, is an approach that could close the observed racial-ethnic disparity in MOUD receipt.

Dr. Jarlenski and her team evaluated whether cannabis use was associated with nausea and vomiting in early pregnancy, and found that higher THC levels were associated with increased odds of moderate-to-severe nausea (20.7% THC detected vs 15.5% in THC not detected).

Findings demonstrate that pregnancy confirmation is more accessible at crisis pregnancy centers (CPC) than at abortion facilities and they are predicted to be exacerbated in the wake of abortion clinic closures following the Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization Supreme Court decision. This highlights the need for improved funding and support for pregnancy confirmation service delivery in medical settings, including abortion facilities.

Drs. Lucas Berenbrok and Marian Jarlenski discuss the need for reduced barriers to contraception and how over the counter and how pharmacist provision of contraception can help increase reproductive health care access across the country.

Findings from Dr. Borrero's and Dr. Jarlenski's recent study show that patients residing in states with Medicaid coverage for abortion had lower odds and rates of:

• Waiting more than 14 days between deciding to have an abortion and the appointment
• Having abortions more than 10 weeks of gestation when in the first trimester
• Traveling more than 60 min to the abortion clinic

Read more: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36075060/

Congratulations to Natalie Pino for their Dean’s Summer Research Program (DSRP) abstract being selected to receive an Arthur Mirsky Award for clinical science! We're so incredibly proud of the work that you have done around PrEP (pre exposure prophylaxis) access in Pennsylvania and Georgia alongside Dr. Kislovskiy and Dr. Jarlenski! 

Faculty members Sonya Borrero, MD, MS, Suji Uhm, MD, MPH, Marian Jarlenski, PhD, Mehret Birru Talabi, MD, PhD, and Greer Donley, JD will present at Grand Rounds with Pitt School of Medicine and Pitt Public Health on September 6th around Ensuring Patient-Centered Care in a Post-Roe World.

Dr. Marian Jarlenski and PhD candidate Noelle Spencer reviewed the perceived safety of cannabis, nicotine, and tobacco use among US women of reproductive age.

Read more about this study here: https://oce-ovid-com.pitt.idm.oclc.org/article/00003081-202206000-00014/HTML 

On September 15, 2021, CWHRI faculty collaborated on a letter to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) about the current state of women's and gender health. Focusing on developing and validating meaningful measures, building data infrastructure, and developing and testing innovative interventions, these comments create a foundation for how the NIH can move forward to advance gender and racial equity in the Office of Research on Women's Health.