A team led by USF College of Public Health’s (COPH) Dr. Christine McGuire-Wolfe, assistant professor and COPH PhD alumna, has been awarded a seed research grant from the USF Women’s Health Collaborative (WHC).

The goal of the WHC is to support interdisciplinary research projects aimed at advancing women’s health.

McGuire-Wolfe has been awarded $10,000 to use toward her research titled, “Intentions, Barriers, and Supports for Women at All Stages of Childbearing in High Demand Professions.”

Funding was granted in September 2021 and efforts are currently underway, according to McGuire-Wolfe.

“High-demand professions, such as obstetrics, surgery, emergency medicine, firefighting and law enforcement entail safety risks, long hours, high-stakes decision-making, physical demands and emotional impact,” she said.

She and her research team aim to document the experiences of women working in high-demand professions and examine the organizational, cultural and structural “drivers of maternal stressors” in these environments.

They will examine work-life balance during pregnancy and the post-partum period; impact of maternal discrimination; and policies contributing to work-family conflicts for mothers in the workplace.

The interdisciplinary research team includes:

• Christine McGuire-Wolfe, PhD, Principal Investigator – COPH Global and Planetary Health
• Jennifer Marshall, PhD, Co-Investigator – COPH Interdisciplinary Research, Sunshine ERC
• Amber Mehmood, PhD, Co-Investigator – COPH Global and Planetary Health
• Sarah Običan, MD, Co-Investigator – MCOM Maternal and Fetal Medicine, Dept of Obstetrics and Gynecology
• Tammy Allen, PhD, Co-Investigator – CAS Organizational Psychology
• Russell Kirby, PhD – COPH Population Health Science
• Nancy Romero-Daza, PhD – CAS Anthropology
• Bryanna Fox, PhD – CAS Criminology
• Elizabeth Dunn, MPH – COPH

“Receipt of this grant supports development of an interdisciplinary team to explore issues encountered by mothers (or future mothers) in high demand professions. High rates of worker burn-out, decreases in new professionals entering these occupations and specialties, and low retention rates have led to work force shortages. An understanding of the challenges and supports that exist in these work environments helps to inform efforts to implement a Total Worker Health^® approach and bolster the number of professionals employed in these occupations,” McGuire-Wolfe said. 

She also said the findings will inform organizational policy and practice recommendations, with dissemination via webinar, conference presentation and publication.

“Funding from the Women’s Health Collaborative Seed Grant allows the team to build on information obtained from a needs assessment conducted with supervisors, administrators and policy stakeholders,” she said.

This initial phase is currently underway and is funded by a Pilot Project Research Training (PPRT) award through the Sunshine Education and Research Center (SERC), according to McGuire-Wolfe.

“The funding has increased research opportunities for students, as three MPH students (Pelumi Olaore, Shari-Jade Pitter and Isabel Montes) and one undergraduate student (Neha Dantuluri) are currently collaborating with the team,” she said.

To support women’s health research through the USF Women’s Health Collaborative, visit usf.to/whc.

Story by Anna Mayor, USF College of Public Health