Skyler Longhini, “Reproductive Care for Students at UWM”
Mentor: Shabnam Nikravan, Public Health
Poster #118

Health behaviors during pregnancy influence the future health of the fetus. A lack of reproductive care in a woman’s pregnancy can lead to negative health outcomes such as infant and maternal mortality and low birth weight. Research has shown that 76% of pregnancies to college-age women 18-19 and 59% of pregnancies to women 20-24 are unintended. 97% of pregnancy related deaths in Wisconsin in 2022 were preventable, suggesting a need for increased care for this group of people. Our research will use a modified version of intervention mapping to plan out a hypothetical program to increase access of reproductive care to UWM students. A logic model was developed to assess the needs, outcomes, and impact of the program. Current literature suggests a need for innovative strategies to increase reproductive care participation such as expansion of affordable care and screening for social determinants of health. The goal of this program is to increase reproductive care availability for students at UWM. This program will serve as a community health improvement plan (CHIP) to address the need for support for pregnant students. A logic model was created to evaluate the program’s activities for effectiveness on reaching determined goals. Our program is guided by social capital theory and hopes to increase bonds in community with healthcare systems along with increasing access to care to promote and improve maternal health outcomes. Maternal and infant health can indicate the health status of a population. The use of a logic model will allow a hypothetical program to be developed that will address the need for reproductive care for university students. Future public health programming should consider barriers of access and their influence on maternal and child health outcomes. Overall, this program wants to see increased participation in reproductive care for students to improve health outcomes.