Patience Afulani, MBChB, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics
Dr. Afulani conducts research on the social and health system factors underlying disparities in reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child health (RMNCH). Her research has extended the evidence on how RMNCH outcomes are shaped by quality of care in health facilities as well as by social determinants. In addition, she has contributed to improved measurement of person-centered reproductive health care, and to the development of evidence-based interventions to improve RMNCH outcomes and reduce disparities.
Dr. Afulani’s prior work examined sources of disparities in quality of antenatal care and how this affects use of skilled birth attendants and birth outcomes in Ghana and Burkina Faso. In addition, she led the development of the person-centered maternity care (PCMC) scale and supported the development of a person-centered family planning scale, both of which were validated in Kenya and India. She also conducted research into sources of disparities in PCMC and barriers to providing PCMC in Kenya. In addition, she has worked on projects to design and evaluate interventions to improve quality of care including PCMC in Ghana, Kenya, and India. She has also conducted research on the health and reproductive behavior of migrants from Africa, and on the consequences of food insecurity in the United States.
Dr. Afulani’s current projects include an NICHD K99/R00 award on addressing provider stress and unconscious bias to improve quality of person-centered maternal health care in Kenya; a UCSF Preterm Birth Initiative grant on measurement of PCMC among women at risk for preterm birth in California; and a Gates-funded project to improve quality of care (including PCMC) through low-tech simulation training of providers in India.
Education:
- University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, PhD in Public Health
- University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, MPH in Community Health Sciences
- University of Ghana Medical School, MBChB (Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery)
In the news:
- COVID-19 has left Ghana's healthcare workers stressed—but simple things can help (op-ed) | The Conversation
- The role of bias in how women are treated during childbirth: A Kenya case study (op-ed) | The Conversation
- Responsive and respectful maternity care needs protection during COVID-19 crisis (op-ed) | The Conversation
- What drives abuse of women in childbirth? We asked those providing the care (op-ed) |The Conversation
- Antenatal care in Kenya needs improvement (op-ed) | The Conversation
- Subtle abuse affects women during childbirth (op-ed) | The Conversation
- Childbirth is hard: Health systems shouldn't make it harder (op-ed) | Apolitical
- Study shows women want men out of delivery rooms | Standard Digital