Preconception and prenatal stress effects on cardiovascular disease risk in black women - Diversity Supplement

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Project Abstract This Diversity Supplement aims to contribute to my professional and career development and ultimately assist in preparing an F31 application to evaluate further how digital storytelling, as a critical narrative intervention, can help facilitate interpersonal conversations about preeclampsia and its related risks in Black families. Preeclampsia, a severe hypertensive pregnancy disorder (HDP), poses a significant health risk and disproportionately affects Black women. While identifying and treating Black maternal health inequities is a public health priority, limited attention has been given to how Black women understand and communicate their preeclampsia experiences and family history, highlighting a gap in knowledge regarding intergenerational communication and the impact of preeclampsia on Black families. Under the guidance of my mentorship team and enhanced by the training from this Supplement, I will utilize innovative visual participatory methods such as zine-making and family tree interviews to explore Black women's experiences, knowledge, and perspective regarding preeclampsia. The Specific Aims of this study are to 1) Explore how mothers of Black study participants perceived their experiences with preeclampsia using zine-making and 2) Examine Black women’s knowledge and perspectives on preeclampsia. To accomplish the proposed research, I will implement a comprehensive training and mentorship plan to build on my prior maternal health knowledge, research experience, and doctoral training. Specifically, my Training Goals will focus on expanding my knowledge and/or skills in 1) qualitative visual participatory research methods, 2) intergenerational research methods, and 3) reproductive epidemiology. These goals will be accomplished through various coursework, seminars, lab observations, conferences, journal readings, and tailored mentoring from a committed team of interdisciplinary researchers. Complemented by support from a dedicated research and training environment at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health and the Department of Psychiatry, this Supplement will accelerate my trajectory in becoming an independent reproductive health researcher focused on reducing preeclampsia-associated inequities in Black families.