Herman Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Spouse
Tyler Thorpe
Awards
Strickland-Daniel Mentoring Award (2018), Master Lecturer on American Psychological Association Board of Scientific Affairs (2015), Fellow of the American Psychologial Association (2002), APA Award for Distinguished Early Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (2000)
Previously, Ickovics was Chair of Social and Behavioral Sciences at theYale School of Public Health and the Founding Director of Community Alliance for Research and Engagement (CARE). She served as the Dean of Faculty atYale-NUS College inSingapore from 2018 to 2021. Her research investigates the biomedical, behavioural, social and psychological factors that influence individual and community health. She has worked in the areas of maternal-child health,mental health, the health impacts of climate change, and multi-sector approaches tochronic disease prevention. She has also led aUS National Institutes of Health training grant intended to advance preventionresearch, with a focus onHIV risk reduction.
Ickovics and her colleagues developed, implemented and evaluated the first standardized curricula for group prenatal care and published the first randomized controlled trials of CenteringPregnancy, now implemented in more than 500 clinical settings.[3][4] This research has been cited as foundational for group prenatal care with special populations such as refugees, teens, military populations, and high-risk pregnant women, with particular impacts on reducing racial and health disparities.[5][6] Further research has found that group prenatal care is associated with a lower prevalence ofpreterm birth, low birthweight, and neonatal intensive care utilization,[7][8][9][10][11] along with higher levels of maternal mental health, breastfeeding, and optimal pregnancy weight gain and postpartum weight loss, among other factors.[12][13][14][15][16][17][18]
Ickovics has also made substantial contributions to understanding the influence of the social and environmental factors that contribute to poor health outcomes. CARE (Community Alliance for Research and Engagement), cofounded by Ickovics, works directly with neighborhood residents to conduct collaborative interventions to improve community health. For example, in partnership with the New Haven Public Schools and the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, they conducted arandomized controlled trial documenting how school-based policies could reduce risk and improve outcomes related to obesity, chronic disease and academic achievement.[19][20]
^Cunningham, Shayna D.; Lewis, Jessica B.; Shebl, Fatma M.; Boyd, Lisa M.; Robinson, Marc A.; Grilo, Stephanie A.; Lewis, Susan M.; Pruett, Anne L.; Ickovics, Jeannette R. (2019). "Group Prenatal Care Reduces Risk of Preterm Birth and Low Birth Weight: A Matched Cohort Study".Journal of Women's Health.28 (1). Mary Ann Liebert Inc:17–22.doi:10.1089/jwh.2017.6817.ISSN1540-9996.PMID30256700.
^Gareau, Sarah; Lòpez-De Fede, Ana; Loudermilk, Brandon L.; Cummings, Tammy H.; Hardin, James W.; Picklesimer, Amy H.; Crouch, Elizabeth; Covington-Kolb, Sarah (2016). "Group Prenatal Care Results in Medicaid Savings with Better Outcomes: A Propensity Score Analysis of CenteringPregnancy Participation in South Carolina".Maternal and Child Health Journal.20 (7):1384–1393.doi:10.1007/s10995-016-1935-y.ISSN1092-7875.PMID26979611.
^Crockett, Amy H.; Heberlein, Emily C.; Smith, Jessica C.; Ozluk, Pelin; Covington-Kolb, Sarah; Willis, Carla (2019). "Effects of a Multi-site Expansion of Group Prenatal Care on Birth Outcomes".Maternal and Child Health Journal.23 (10):1424–1433.doi:10.1007/s10995-019-02795-4.ISSN1092-7875.PMID31230168.
^Trotman, Gylynthia; Chhatre, Gayatri; Darolia, Renuka; Tefera, Eshetu; Damle, Lauren; Gomez-Lobo, Veronica (2015). "The Effect of Centering Pregnancy versus Traditional Prenatal Care Models on Improved Adolescent Health Behaviors in the Perinatal Period".Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.28 (5):395–401.doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2014.12.003.ISSN1873-4332.PMID26233287.
^DeCesare, Julie Z.; Hannah, Dawn; Amin, Raid (2017). "Postpartum Contraception Use Rates of Patients Participating in the Centering Pregnancy Model of Care Versus Traditional Obstetrical Care".The Journal of Reproductive Medicine.62 (1–2):45–49.ISSN0024-7758.PMID29999281.