Purdue Public Health graduate student studies the stories behind the statistics to improve Black maternal health

Written By: Rebecca Hoffa, rhoffa@purdue.edu 

Joann Fafowora (second from right) works with her mentor Kathryn LaRoche (second from left) to gain new understanding about issues related to Black maternal health.(Photo provided)

Black populations have one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Studying within a state with a generally high maternal mortality rate, Joann Fafowora, a Master of Public Health (MPH) and PhD student in the Purdue University Department of Public Health, wants to better understand the stories behind this statistic.  

Working alongside Kathryn LaRoche, assistant professor of public health, Fafowora is currently doing a study looking at how miscarriage care has been impacted by the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision that ended federal protection for abortions. In doing so, the research team has gathered qualitative data through real-life accounts of mothers, focused particularly on Black populations for certain aspects of the data collection. 

Joann Fafowora(Photo provided)

“We generally think it’s really important to get the actual perspectives of the women going through these things,” Fafowora said. “Even before I came into public health, I’ve always cared about the under-researched populations. Black women and women of color in general are often under-researched when it comes to things.” 

Fafowora recalls the story of one woman who sought miscarriage care during the COVID-19 pandemic, and her husband had to continue to push medical staff to come to her hospital room to check on her. 

“I think it was really important and vital during that time for her to get care that she just wasn’t getting,” Fafowora said. 

Fafowora is also beginning a project investigating the maternal impacts of sickle cell disease — a disease that affects the way blood cells form and often restricts blood flow, causing serious health complications — as well as the genetic trait that causes it. The disease disproportionately affects Black populations, with more than 90% of disease cases in the United States occurring in Black individuals and one in 13 Black babies being born with the sickle cell trait in their genes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fafowora noted there’s a large population of individuals with the sickle cell trait or disease in Indianapolis, where most of their data collection will occur. 

“We want to see how family planning is impacted by the possibility of passing down the trait and/or the disease to your children,” Fafowora said. “We are looking at the trait and disease as two separate studies but are working on them together so we can look at the differences.” 

For Fafowora, who earned her bachelor’s degree in the College of Health and Human Sciences’ Department of Health and Kinesiology, focusing issues for underserved populations is a priority. This is something she instantly saw in LaRoche’s work, from the moment Fafowora took PUBH 52000 (Human Sexuality and Sexual Health) with her as an undergraduate. 

“I have been impressed by Joann’s passion, intelligence and keen dedication to health equity from the first time I met her in my graduate seminar class in January 2023,” LaRoche said. “Over the past two years, she has further honed her research skills in the MPH/PhD program and contributed to several research projects about pregnancy loss, Black women’s health and the family planning desires of people who carry the sickle cell trait. Joann is a natural-born leader, and I am so fortunate to be able to work with her.” 

Joann Fafowora participates on a panel at the Take Root conference.(Photo provided)

As Fafowora wraps up her MPH and continues to work on her PhD, she has learned to mesh her interest in biostatistics with her passion for qualitative work and studying the real-life experiences of women. In addition to her work with LaRoche, Fafowora is also working with the Military Family Research Institute for her master’s practicum to analyze data about the Focus Forward Fellowship, a program that works to empower women student veterans and service members with leadership and career skills and networking opportunities.  

“I like the mixed methods research,” Fafowora said. “There is a purpose for both types of research, and I think that oftentimes qualitative is underutilized and scrutinized a lot more than quantitative is. Especially in the research we do, in general, women’s voices have been reneged to a statistic, but their actual voices and actual experiences aren’t often discussed, and I think that’s really important.” 

Fafowora recently attended Take Root — a conference focused on reproductive justice — in October, where she was able to join the advisory committee and participate on a panel, enabling her to share some of the knowledge and experience she’s acquired in her research across the reproductive health landscape. 

“The thing that’s most important to me is ensuring research is being done where research is not normally done,” Fafowora said. “In that conference, we did a panel where we talked about the graduate student experience and what it’s like to do this kind of research. That made me very proud.”