MCH Assistant Professor Lindsey Yates, PhD, MPH, is finding new opportunities to braid her research interests together. Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Dr. Yates explores racial inequities in abortion and contraception services, and maternal and infant health care. She also uses implementation science to support public health practitioners in utilizing evidence-based innovations to improve poor maternal and child health outcomes in their communities. At the heart of her work is a passion for addressing inequities that disproportionately affect Black women, birthing people, and children.
Dr. Lindsey Yates
Over the past year, Dr. Yates has collaborated with colleagues and contributed to various projects, allowing her to support important public health work. She partnered with colleagues in the School of Medicine on several studies to explore access to single-visit long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). Single-visit LARC involves screening, counseling, and the placement of a LARC device in one visit, compared to multiple visits to accomplish those tasks. It is a recommended practice for most patients who desire LARC. This research contributes to the field of contraception research, demonstrating that health system factors continue to influence people’s access to LARC. She has also co-written two invited commentaries about the Reproductive Justice and sexual health implications of the Dobbs decision, overturning Roe v. Wade and ending the federal right to abortion.
In 2024, Lindsey co-edited of The Practical Playbook III: Working Together to Improve Maternal Health. Written by more than 150 contributors, the book offers tangible strategies to address maternal health inequities, especially among Black and other marginalized women and birthing people. Readers will find real stories from women and birthing people, innovative examples from across the US, and data and other tools that can be applied in their communities.
Dr. Yates is currently working on new projects that integrate her multiple interests. For example, she is planning to use claims data to examine the implications of state abortion laws on racial differences in severe maternal morbidity among people insured by Medicaid. Dr. Yates is also working with Dr. Dorothy Cilenti, Dr. Christine Tucker, Dr. Larelle Bookhart, Amy Mullenix, and Christine Bixiones on the Partnering with WIC to Advance Maternal Health Equity Collaborating Center. The Center will support state and local Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) supplemental food program sites to implement evidence-based interventions addressing urgent maternal health warning signs.
A 2021 PhD graduate of the Department of Health Policy and Management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, Dr. Yates also supports current Gillings students, prospective students, and alumni. Next fall, she will be instructor for MHCH 728: “Introduction to Implementation Research and Practice in MCFH”. She enjoys supporting future generations of public health researchers and practitioners.
