Zoe Pleasure, a Health Services PhD candidate, has been working in the field of reproductive health research for more than seven years. In her years as a researcher at the Guttmacher Institute , she worked on research projects and publications about maternal near-misses in Kenya, adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive use, and how changes in state-level policy affect reproductive health.
More recently, she co-authored a study analyzing abortion-related TikToks in the wake of the Dobbs decision. She will collaborate with Drs. Veterans with autoimmune conditions face many of the same barriers to contraception access as civilians, only compounded by a host of Veteran-specific challenges. For this population in particular, receiving quality reproductive health care is key. Primary care doctors and specialists may provide conflicting information about contraception, leading to gaps in care.
To ensure comprehensive care, the VA often outsources care to community care providers, but communication between the VA and these disparate health systems can be uneven, especially if a patient has a complicated medical history. Each source—electronic health records, medical record text notes, and qualitative interviews—is meant to illuminate a different facet of the issue. Health records, which reflect billable procedures and prescriptions, reveal patterns in contraception usage.
Pleasure seeks to understand this issue holistically: at the Veteran level, provider level, and system level. Indeed, she was drawn to the Health Services PhD program for the opportunity to inhabit dual roles: as an academic, and also a change-maker working within health systems to improve the delivery of care. Full Calendar. Alison Jean Smith. January 15, Featured , Health Services Ph.
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