Division of Reproductive and Population Health

The Division of Reproductive and Population Health (“Pop Health”), founded 2017, is committed to improving reproductive health, wellbeing, and equity through high-quality research and evidence-based programs. Our work recognizes that health is influenced not just by individual-level factors or healthcare service delivery, but also by the social and socioeconomic contexts in which people live. Reproductive health inequities overwhelmingly stem from these latter sociocultural factors, and we endeavor to address those inequities only with broader approaches, rigorous public health and social scientific methodologies, and community-informed perspectives.

Members of this division conduct rigorous research, provide leadership to several public health initiatives, partner with diverse stakeholders, and endeavor to translate research into policy and practice through dissemination and implementation. Topic areas include birth equity, contraception, pregnancy and family planning, abortion, and other health disparities. The division is also home to the Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) an initiative that supports and translates rigorous, policy-relevant research on reproductive health, equity, and autonomy in Wisconsin and beyond.

Our greatest strength exists within our diverse partnerships. Faculty and staff in the division collaborate with professionals across the UW-Madison campus. Connections include the Department of Anthropology Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, Department of Population Health Sciences, the School of Nursing, the UW-Madison Prevention Research Center, the Center for Demography and Ecology, and the La Follette School of Public Affairs.

Contact Us

Elizabeth Albert

Role title: Research Program Assistant

Email: egalbert@wisc.edu

Division Director

Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH

Green discusses racial inequities in health with PBS Wisconsin

Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health and the UW Department of Population Health Sciences, spoke with PBS Wisconsin for a recent story about conversations dealing with racial biases and their impact on pregnant patients.In “Tiffany Green on racial inequities in deliverin... more

Department hosts successful Women’s Health and Health Equity Research Lecture and Symposium

On October 12, 2023, the UW Department of Ob-Gyn hosted the UW Women’s Health and Health Equity Research Lecture and Symposium, an event created in 2005 by Gloria Sarto, MD, and Gloria Johnson-Powell, MD. Katie Sampene, MD, associate professor in the Division of Academic Specialists in Ob-Gyn, chaired the event planning commi... more

Higgins presents post-Dobbs research perspectives to HHS, NASEM

UW Collaborative for Reproductive Equity Director and Division of Reproductive and Population Health Director Jenny Higgins, PhD, MPH, brought important perspectives on reproductive health research in a post-Dobbs landscape to two national leadership organizations this fall.In late September 2023, Higgins and UW CORE Research... more

Green quoted in New York Times opinion about maternal mortality

A recent opinion article published in the New York Times includes perspective from Tiffany Green, PhD, associate professor in the Division of Reproductive and Population Health! In “America Already Knows How to Make Childbirth Safer”, the author outlines options for reducing maternal mortality; the author cites Green in discu... more

CORE brief: Impacts of abortion restrictions on pregnant people, their partners, families, and communities

The UW-Madison Collaborative for Reproductive Equity (CORE) released a brief outlining the impacts of abortion restrictions on pregnant peoples’ wellbeing, family and community health, economic health, and more. Since the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, abortion services have been nearly una... more