Life Course Framework

The Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health is grounded in a life course framework with domestic and international areas of interest including: child and adolescent health; maternal, fetal and perinatal health; population and health; and women's, sexual and reproductive health.

Skills emphasized in departmental training include: population sciences, behavioral science, program evaluation, evidence based advocacy and the translation of research for programs and policy.

Child and Adolescent Health

We seek to advance the scientific basis, public health determinants, programmatic strategies and policy considerations that influence and promote child and adolescent health. Grounded in a life course framework, our multi-disciplinary faculty is passionate about promoting the early and lifelong health and well-being of children from infancy through adolescence and the transition to adulthood. We employ biological, developmental, ecological and behavioral approaches to illuminate the interacting influences of family, community, school, environment, policy and systems factors that enhance resilience and positive health among children and youth both domestically and internationally.

Maternal, Fetal & Perinatal Health

The research, teaching and practice activities of faculty in Maternal, Fetal and Perinatal Health address the physical and mental health and well-being of birthing populations prior to, during, and after pregnancy, as well as the health and well-being of their newborns and infants. These activities focus on social, structural, psychosocial, environmental, biological, and health services determinants as viewed through a health equity lens.

Population and Health

Population and Health includes both demographic analyses and population studies, with a special emphasis on applications to health. The former includes the interrelationships between fertility, mortality, migration, marriage and divorce, and the influences of these demographic processes on population size and structure. The latter include the relationships between the demographic processes and population health in particular, and socio-economic and other variables in general.

Women's, Sexual and Reproductive Health

Our goal is to ensure women’s and sexual/reproductive health and wellness for all and eliminate discriminatory barriers. We do so by using a social determinants lens that spans biological roots, interpersonal dynamics, community attributes and norms, and structural forces.