231425 Psychosocial factors and preterm birth

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 10:50 AM - 11:05 AM

Claudia Holzman, DVM, MPH, PhD , College of Human Medicine Department of Epidemiology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
     
The higher rates of preterm delivery among poor women and African-American women raise questions about the potential roles of psychosocial factors in explaining these disparities. The heterogeneity of preterm delivery adds to the complexity of studying these questions. This presentation will cover frequently studied psychosocial factors (e.g. stress, anxiety, and depression) and discuss mechanisms whereby these factors might mediate increased risk of delivering prematurely. The empirical evidence linking psychosocial factors and preterm delivery will be critically reviewed. In addition, the challenges in measuring psychosocial factors and in drawing casual inferences regarding these associations will be explored.

Learning Areas:
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Diversity and culture
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Describe the psychosocial factors that might mediate social disparities in preterm birth risk Identify potential mechanisms that underlie links between psychosocial factors and preterm birth Evaluate the empirical evidence for associations between psychosocial factors and preterm birth Analyze the challenges in making causal inferences about specific psychosocial factors in relation to preterm birth

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conduct research in the area of preterm birth
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4110.0: Preterm Birth and Social Justice