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.
