This year’s Fall CTSA Program Annual Meeting will bring personnel together from different CTSA Hubs. Hubs have been invited to submit one representative poster for the Fall CTSA Program Meeting related to the meeting theme, Building CTSA Program Impact through Innovation, Collaboration, and Equity.
GHUCCTS will be represented by KL2 Scholar Dr. Christina Marea, who will discuss her recent publication on how homelessness during pregnancy leads to adverse outcomes for both mothers and infants from birth through early childhood.
Dr. Marea, in partnership with Community of Hope and DC Health Office of Health Equity, explored how pregnant individuals experiencing homelessness in Washington, DC navigate service systems and identified key policy and practice changes needed to support them. This study was embedded within the DC Calling All Sectors Initiative (CASI), a philanthropically
funded multisector collaboration led by the DC Health Office of Health Equity (OHE). CASI aimed to address structural inequities and barriers at the intersection of pregnancy and homelessness. It confirmed that homelessness during pregnancy exacerbates stress and negatively impacts health, emphasizing the need for compassionate, respectful care. The study highlighted how housing instability and mental health challenges are intertwined, affecting pregnancy outcomes like prematurity and low birth weight. Policy changes suggested include providing early, permanent housing access for pregnant people, integrating health and homelessness services, and ensuring that care is dignified and trauma-informed. The Housing Our Newborns, Empowering You (HONEY) program, initiated by Community of Hope based on these findings, offers a care coordination model to streamline access to healthcare and support. The study also underscores the need for housing stability, social support, and improved system navigability to reduce mental health strain and support long-term well-being. It calls for antiracist policies addressing economic justice, including affordable housing, living wages, and parental leave, as essential to achieving reproductive justice. Despite limitations, the findings inform multisector collaboration for policy reforms aimed at breaking down silos and improving health equity.
Read Dr. Marea’s Full Article: Navigating Homelessness Assistance While Pregnant: A Rapid Qualitative Research-to-Policy Collaboration in Washington, DC