Here you will find relevant publications from the ACTIONS team. BOLD = ACTIONS faculty, fellows, and staff
Journal Articles
2025
Mitchell A, Grayson N, Afulani PA, Baltzell K, Neerland C, Blair AH, Amore AD. Development of the Preparation for Community-Based Labor and Birth Instrument Centering Black Perspectives in the United States-A Participatory
Adaptation. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2025 Oct 28. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.70040. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41152197.
Elizegi Narbarte G, Aguinaga Bialous S, Perez-Urdiales I, James JE, Dubbin L. Cultural and Language Discrimination in Healthcare as Experienced by Basque Women and Gender Non-Normative Individuals in the Basque Country. Qual Health Res. 2025 Oct 3:10497323251365466. doi: 10.1177/10497323251365466. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41039919.
Grayson ND, Quinones N, King K, Norman K, Oseguera TW, Smith N, Peake M, Amore AD. The CHOICES Black Midwifery Fellowship: An Innovative Model for Training Midwives in Reproductive Justice and Community-Centered Care. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2025 Sep 24. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.70028. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40994058.
Walker RR, Dillard-Wright J, Karkar R, Chung J, Molony J, Gatrall CE. Health Tech for the People (HT4P): A transdisciplinary research initiative focused on artificial intelligence tech ethics and design for health justice. Nurs Outlook.
2025 Sep 18;73(6):102546. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2025.102546. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40972228.
Franck LS, Mehra R, Hodgson CR, Gay C, Rienks J, Lisanti AJ, Pavlik M, Manju S, Turaga N, Clay M, Hoffmann TJ. Prevalence of Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Among Parents of Hospitalized Children in 14 Countries. Children (Basel). 2025 Jul 30;12(8):1001. doi: 10.3390/children12081001. PMID: 40868453; PMCID:
PMC12384160.
Alspaugh A, Thumm EB, Blumenfeld J, Lindberg LD. Exploring the Experiences of Midwifery Preceptors Using the Differentiated Job Demands-Resources Model. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2025 Oct 28:S0884-2175(25)00264-3. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2025.10.002. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41173462.
Alspaugh A, Blumenfeld J, Lindberg LD. Institutional forces that influence the precepting of midwifery students. Nurs Outlook. 2025 Jul-Aug;73(4):102435. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2025.102435. Epub 2025 May 17. PMID: 40383011.
Suárez-Baquero DFM, Joseph J, McLemore MR. Traditional Black Midwifery to Enhance Birth Justice. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2025 May;54(3):338-348. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2024.07.003. Epub 2024 Aug 11. PMID: 39142636.
Quinones N, Oseguera TW, Grayson N. What's illegal? To learn, to practice, or both? Recommendations for the midwifery field to respond to the post--Dobbs abortion crisis. Eur J Contracept Reprod Health Care. 2025
Aug;30(4):226-231. doi: 10.1080/13625187.2025.2502801. Epub 2025 May 20. PMID: 40392193.
Hodgson CR, Mehra R, Franck LS. Infant and Family Outcomes and Experiences Related to Family-Centered Care Interventions in the NICU: A Systematic Review. Children (Basel). 2025 Feb 26;12(3):290. doi: 10.3390/children12030290. PMID: 40150573; PMCID: PMC11941216.
Eagen-Torkko M, Altman M, Chor J, Frank LS, Suárez-Baquero DFM, Swartz A, McLemore MR. Why abortion is healthcare. Nursing Outlook. Jan-Feb 2025; 73(1): 102345. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102345. Epub 2024 Dec 19.
Melton E, Riddle L, James JE. Carework as resistance: How incarcerated women care for each other to survive carcerality amid a global pandemic. Med Anthropol Q. 2025 Nov 11:e70034. doi: 10.1111/maq.70034. Epub ahead of print. PMID:
41216949.
2024
von Scheven E, Braun M, Nahal B, Perito ER, Brakeman P, Soulsby WD, Quill L, Cuneo A, Franck LS. Voices of Hope: Leveraging Think-Aloud Cognitive Interviews to Develop a Hope Assessment Tool for Young People Living with Chronic Health Conditions. Children (Basel). 2024 Nov 18;11(11):1396. doi: 10.3390/children11111396. PMID: 39594971; PMCID: PMC11593005.
Soulsby WD, Franck LS, Perito E, Brakeman P, Cuneo A, Quill L, Boscardin J, von Scheven E. Healthcare Utilization Among Youth with Chronic Illness Receiving Care at a Large Urban Academic Healthcare System. Healthcare (Basel). 2024 Nov 14;12(22):2278. doi: 10.3390/healthcare12222278. PMID: 39595475; PMCID:
PMC11594139.
McNair C, McAllister M, Franck LS, Stevens B, Taddio A. Parents' Experiences With Infant Pain Management in the NICU. J Obstet Gynecol Neonatal Nurs. 2024 Nov;53(6):648-657.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jogn.2024.08.004. Epub 2024 Sep 27. PMID: 39349063.
Hodgson CR, Mehra R, Franck LS. Child and Family Outcomes and Experiences Related to Family-Centered Care Interventions for Hospitalized Pediatric Patients: A Systematic Review. Children (Basel). 2024 Aug 6;11(8):949. doi:
10.3390/children11080949. PMID: 39201884; PMCID: PMC11353055.
Blumenfeld J, Alspaugh A, Wright L, Lindberg L. Identifying Drivers and Barriers to Precepting Midwifery Students: "A Little Part of Me Lives on in Each Student Midwife". J Midwifery Womens Health. 2024 Sep-Oct;69(5):727-734. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13654. Epub 2024 Jun 7. PMID: 38847492.
Smith O, Karvonen KL, Gonzales-Hinojosa MD, Lewis-Zhao S, Washington T, McLemore MR, Rogers EE, Franck LS. Parents Experiences of Racism in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. J Patient Exp. 2024 Aug 14;11:23743735241272226. doi: 10.1177/23743735241272226. PMID: 39148749; PMCID: PMC11325332.
Karvonen KL, Smith O, Chambers Butcher BD, Franck LS, McKenzie-Sampson S, McLemore MR, Pantell MS, Rogers EE. Parent and staff perceptions of racism in a single-center neonatal intensive care unit. Pediatr Res. 2024
Jun;95(7):1690-1693. doi: 10.1038/s41390-023-02980-w. Epub 2024 Jan 2. PMID: 38167642; PMCID: PMC11245384.
Gatrall CE. The work of race, culture, and ethnicity in nursing literature, 1970 to 1985. Nurs Outlook. 2024 Sep-Oct;72(5):102223. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102223. Epub 2024 Jun 20. PMID: 38905741.
Suárez-Baquero DFM. Decolonizing nursing knowledge: Challenging Eurocentrism centering Global South voices. Nurs Outlook. 2024 Jul-Aug;72(4):102197. doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2024.102197. Epub 2024 May 24. PMID: 38795570.
Franck LS, Mehra R, Remy L, Rienks J. Home Visiting in California During the First Two Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study of Low-Income Pregnant and Parenting Caregivers. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2024 May-Jun 01;30(3):403-410. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001910. Epub 2024 Apr 10.
PMID: 38603746.
Franck LS, Magaña J, Bisgaard R, Lothe B, Sun Y, Morton CH. Mobile-enhanced Family Integrated Care for preterm infants: A qualitative study of parents' views. PEC Innov. 2024 Apr 30;4:100284. doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2024.100284. PMID: 38737891; PMCID: PMC11087992.
Alspaugh A, Blumenfeld J, Wright LV, Recalde S, Lindberg LD. "You and Me Do It for the Love of Teaching": Exploring the Expansion of Clinical Training Opportunities for Midwives. J Perinat Neonatal Nurs. 2024 Apr-Jun 01;38(2):147-157. doi: 10.1097/JPN.0000000000000815. Epub 2024 May 13. PMID: 38758271.
Malouf R, Harrison S, Pilkington V, Opondo C, Gale C, Stein A, Franck LS, Alderdice F. Factors associated with posttraumatic stress and anxiety among the parents of babies admitted to neonatal care: a systematic review. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2024 May 9;24(1):352. doi: 10.1186/s12884-024-06383-5. PMID: 38724899; PMCID: PMC11084127.
Dumet LM, Dow WH, Karasek D, Franck LS, Goodman JM. Barriers to Accessing Paid Parental Leave Among Birthing Parents With Perinatal Health Complications: A Multiple-Methods Study. Womens Health Issues. 2024 Jul-Aug;34(4):331-339. doi: 10.1016/j.whi.2024.02.002. Epub 2024 Apr 3. PMID: 38570240; PMCID: PMC11297688.
Franck LS, Johnson I, Mehra R, Remy L, Rienks J. A Qualitative Analysis of Low-Income Pregnant and Parenting Caregivers' Experiences With Home Visiting in California During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2024 Mar-Apr 01;30(2):158-167. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001820. Epub 2023 Aug 30. PMID: 37646559; PMCID: PMC10833179.
Franck LS, Johnson I, Mehra R, Remy L, Rienks J. A Qualitative Analysis of Low-Income Pregnant and Parenting Caregivers' Experiences With Home Visiting in California During the First 2 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2024 Mar-Apr 01;30(2):158-167. doi: 10.1097/PHH.0000000000001820.
Epub 2023 Aug 30. PMID: 37646559; PMCID: PMC10833179.
Golden BN, Elrefaay S, McLemore MR, Alspaugh A, Baltzell K, Franck LS. Midwives' experience of telehealth and remote care: a systematic mixed methods review. BMJ Open. 2024 Mar 29;14(3):e082060. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-082060. PMID: 38553065; PMCID: PMC10982796.
2023
Alspaugh A, Swan LET, Auerbach SL, Bartmess M, Agbemenu K, Ely GE. Mistreatment in health care among women in Appalachia. Cult Health Sex. 2023 Dec;25(12):1690-1706. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2023.2176547. Epub 2023 Feb 13. PMID: 36780368.
Auerbach S, Agbemenu K, Lorenz R, Hequembourg A, Ely GE. Contraceptive Behavior in Appalachia: Exploring Use, Nonuse, and Contraceptive Attitudes. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Sep 29;20(19):6862. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20196862. PMID: 37835132; PMCID: PMC10572216.
Franco-Rocha OY, Wheldon CW, Osier N, Lett E, Kesler SR, Henneghan AM, Suárez-Baquero DFM. Cisheteronormativity and its influence on the psychosocial experience of LGBTQ+ people with cancer: A qualitative systematic review. Psychooncology. 2023 Jun;32(6):834-845. doi: 10.1002/pon.6133. Epub 2023 Apr 6. PMID: 37025048.
Suárez-Baquero DFM. Breaking the chains: Decolonizing the language of Nursology. Nurs Philos. 2023 Apr;24(2):e12422. doi: 10.1111/nup.12422. Epub 2023 Mar 7. PMID: 36880979.
Alspaugh A. Research and Professional Literature to Inform Practice, September/October 2023. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2023 Sep-Oct;68(5):659-664. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13559. Epub 2023 Sep 14. PMID: 37708217.
Daniel AL, Auerbach S, Nazarenko D, Agbemenu K, Lorenz R. An Integrative Review of the Relationship Between Intrauterine Devices and Bacterial Vaginosis. Nurs Womens Health. 2023 Apr;27(2):141-151. doi:10.1016/j.nwh.2023.01.007. Epub 2023 Feb 18. PMID: 36803608.
Auerbach SL, Coleman-Minahan K, Alspaugh A, Aztlan EA, Stern L, Simmonds K. Critiquing the Unintended Pregnancy Framework. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2023 Mar;68(2):170-178. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13457. Epub 2023 Jan 13. PMID: 36637112.
Golden B. Using punctuated equilibrium theory: Policy momentum in traditional Medicare telehealth reimbursement during COVID-19. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice. 2023;24(3):198-207. doi:10.1177/15271544231157382
Alspaugh A, Suarez-Baquero DFM, Mehra R, Lanshaw N, Joseph J, Combs M, Spiller K, McLemore MR, Franck LS. “Patients want to see people that look like them”: Aspiring midwives of color as resistance to racism through concordant care in the United States. SSM - Qualitative Research in Health. 2023; 3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmqr.2023.100226
Daniel AL, Auerbach S, Nazarenko D, Agbemenu K, Lorenz R. An Integrative Review of the Relationship Between Intrauterine Devices and Bacterial Vaginosis. Nurs Womens Health. 2023 Apr;27(2):141-151. doi: 10.1016/j.nwh.2023.01.007. Epub 2023 Feb 18. PMID: 36803608.
Auerbach SL, Coleman-Minahan K, Alspaugh A, Aztlan EA, Stern L, Simmonds K. Critiquing the Unintended Pregnancy Framework. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2023 Mar;68(2):170-178. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13457. Epub 2023 Jan 13. PMID: 36637112.
Mehra R, Alspaugh A, Dunn JT, Franck LS, Mclemore MR, Keene DE, Kershaw TS, Ickovics JR. “‘Oh gosh, why go?’ cause they are going to look at me and not hire”: intersectional experiences of black women navigating employment during pregnancy and parenting. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2023; 23(17). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-022-05268-9
Rutman SP, Price M, Williams S, Jones L, Williams-Burt H, Decker MJ, Franck LS, Fuchs JD, Brindis CD. Pursuing Research Justice Through Community-Academic Partnership to Address Racial Disparities in Preterm Birth. Prog Community Health Partnersh. 2023;17(2):319-327. doi: 10.1353/cpr.2023.a900212. PMID: 37462560.
2022
Congdon JL, Bardach NS, Franck LS, Brindis CD, Boscardin WJ, Carrasco Z, Cabana MD, Dehlendorf C. Postpartum Family Planning in Pediatrics: A Survey of Parental Contraceptive Needs and Health Services Preferences. Acad Pediatr. 2023 Sep-Oct;23(7):1417-1425. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2023.03.009. Epub 2023 Mar 22.
PMID: 36958531; PMCID: PMC11166476.
Golden B, Asiodu IV, Franck LS, Yayra Ofori-Parku C, Suárez-Baquero DFM, Youngston T, McLemore MR. Emerging approaches to redressing multi-level racism and reproductive health disparities. npj Digit. Med. 5, 169 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00718-2
July 2022
Racism is a motivator and a barrier for people of color aspiring to become midwives in the United States
Health Services Research (Volume 58, Issue 1)
Renee Mehra*, Amy Alspaugh*, Jennie Joseph, Bethany Golden*, Nikki Lanshaw*, Monica McLemore*, Linda S. Franck*
April 2022
The space in the middle: Attitudes of women's health and neonatal nurses in the United States about abortion
Women's Health Issues (Volume 32, Issue 2)
Amy Alspaugh*, Renee Mehra*, Kate Coleman-Minahan, Thomas J. Hoffmann, Candace W. Burton, Meghan Eagen-Torkko, Toni M. Bond*, Linda S. Franck, Liz Cretti Olseon, Nikki Lanshaw*, Jacqueline D. Rychnovsky, Monica R. McLemore*
January 2022
“Police shootings, now that seems to be the main issue” – Black pregnant women’s anticipation of police brutality towards their children
BMC Public Health (Volume 22)
Renee Mehra*, Amy Alspaugh*, Linda S. Franck*, Monica R. McLemore*, Trace S. Kershaw, Jeannette R. Ickovics, Danya E. Keene, Alyasah A. Sewell
December 2021
The Embodiment of Traditional Partería in the Colombian Pacific Region
Qualitative Health Research (Volume 32, Issue 2)
Daniel F. M. Suárez-Baquero*, Jane D. Champion
October 2021
Features and Impact of Trust-Based Relationships Between Community Health Workers and Low-Resource Perinatal Women with Chronic Health Conditions
Maternal and Child Health Journal (Volume 25)
Lisa M. Boyd, Renee Mehra*, Jordan Thomas, Jessica B. Lewis, Shayna D. Cunningham
October 2021
"My 9 to 5 Job Is Birth Work": A Case Study of Two Compensation Approaches for Community Doula Care
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (Volume 18, Issue 20)
Renee Mehra*, Anu Manchikanti Gomez, Stephanie Arteaga, Jennet Arcara, Alli Cuentos, Marna Armstead, Rachel G Logan, Andrea V Jackson, Cassondra J Marshall
October 2021
Traditional partería providing women's health care in Latin America: A qualitative synthesis
International Nursing Review (Volume 68, Issue 4)
Daniel F.M. Suárez-Baquero*, Jane Dimmitt Champion
August 2021
Accompanying the Path of Maternity: The Life History of a Colombian Doula
The Journal of Perinatal Education (Volume 30, Issue 3)
Daniel F.M. Suárez-Baquero*, Jane Dimmitt Champion
July 2021
“Screaming, ‘No! No!’ It was Literally Like Being Raped”: Connecting Sexual Assault Trauma and Coerced Obstetric Procedures
Social Problems
Theresa Morris, Joan H Robinson, Keridwyn Spiller*, Amanda Gomez
June 2021
Universal health care for the United States: A primer for health care providers
Journal of Midwifery & Women's Health (Volume 66, Issue 4)
Amy Alspaugh*, Nikki Lanshaw*, Jan Kriebs, Cheri Van Hoover
May 2021
Structural racism and social distancing: Implications for COVID-19
EClinical Medicine (Volume 35)
Renee Mehra*, Linda S. Franck*
April 2021
"Since I'm a little bit more mature": Contraception and the Arc of Time for Women in Midlife
Women's Midlife Health (Volume 7, Issue 1)
Amy Alspaugh*, Melody D Reibel, Eun-Ok Im, Julie Barroso
March 2021
The Reproductive Health Priorities, Concerns, and Needs of Women in Midlife: A Feminist Poststructuralist Qualitative Analysis
Qualitative Health Research (Volume 3, Issue 4)
Amy Alspaugh*, Eun-Ok Im, Melody D Reibel, Julie Barroso
December 2020
Black Pregnant Women “Get the Most Judgment”: A Qualitative Study of the Experiences of Black Women at the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Pregnancy
Women's Health Issues (Volume 30, Issue 6)
Renee Mehra*, Lisa M. Boyd, Urania Magriples, Trace S. Kershaw, Jeannette R. Ickovics, and Danya E. Keene
September 2020
Considerations for Building Sustainable Community Health Worker Programs to Improve Maternal Health
Journal of Primary Care & Community Health (Volume 11)
Renee Mehra*, Lisa M. Boyd, Jessica B. Lewis, and Shayna D. Cunningham
September 2020
Attitudes of California Registered Nurses About Abortion
Journal of Obstetric Gynecological Neonatal Nursing (Volume 49, Issue 5)
Alicia Swartz*, Thomas J. Hoffmann, Elizabeth Cretti, Candace W. Burton, Meghan Eagen-Torkko, Amy J. Levi, E. Angel Aztlan, and Monica R. McLemore*
April 2020
Exposures to structural racism and racial discrimination among pregnant and early post-partum Black women living in Oakland, California
Stress and Health (Volume 36, Issue 2)
Brittany D. Chambers*, Silvia E. Arabia, Helen A. Arega, Molly R. Altman, Rachel Berkowitz, Sky K. Feuer, Linda S. Franck*, Anu M. Gomez, Kord Kober, Tania Pacheco-Werner, Randi A. Paynter, Aric A. Prather, Solaire A. Spellen, Darcy Stanley, Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski, and Monica R. McLemore*
February 2020
855: Risk of Adverse Birth Outcome Among Black Women With Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (Volume 222, Issue 1, Supplement)
Brittany D. Chambers*, Rebecca J. Baer, Gretchen Bandoli, Jennifer Felder, Sky K. Feuer, Elena Flowers, Linda Franck*, Anu Manchikanti Gomez, Deborah Karasek, Nichole L. Nidey, Scott P. Oltman, Elizabeth Rogers, Karen Scott, Larry Rand, Kelli K. Ryckman, and Laura L. Jelliffe-Pawlowski
February 2020
CE: An Evidence-Based Update on Contraception
American Journal of Nursing (Volume 120, Issue 2)
Laura E. Britton, Amy Alspaugh*, Madelyne Z. Greene, and Monica R. McLemore*
November 2019
A Transdisciplinary Conceptual Framework of Contextualized Resilience for Reducing Adverse Birth Outcomes
Qualitative Health Research (Volume 30. Issue 1)
Tijen Sumbul, Solaire Spellen, and Monica R. McLemore*
*ACTIONS team member
Op-Eds
December 8, 2021
May 9, 2021
November 23, 2021
March 11, 2021
Aug 31, 2021
September 3, 2019
Book Chapters and Other Works
Alspaugh A, Franck LS, Lanshaw N, Suárez-Baquero DFM, Mehra R, Bond T, and McLemore MR. Rejecting the abortion debate binary is essential to moving toward reproductive justice. In: Littlejohn KE and Solonger R, eds. Fighting Mad: Resisting the End of Roe v. Wade. Oakland, CA: University of California; 2024: 307-311.
Mehra R, Lanshaw N, Spiller K, Woodward Calder C, Franck LS, Spetz J. Understanding the practice of midwifery care in Sacramento. August 2022. Report and appendices available here.
Crear-Perry J, Hassan A, Oberly T, Rutledge J, Scott-Henderson D, Suárez-Baquero DFM, Walden N, McLemore MR. Designing new futures: Essential wrap-around services for reproductive-justice informed scholars. In: Davis Moss R, ed. Black Women’s Reproductive Health and Sexuality: A Holistic Public Health Approach. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association; 2023. https://doi.org/10.2105/9780875533414ch30.