East Tennessee State University Establishes a New Research Center on Women’s Health

East Tennessee State University in Johnson City has established a new interprofessional research center that will expand ongoing efforts to improve the health and well-being of women, particularly women from the Southeast and Appalachian regions.

The roots of the East Tennesse State University Center for Applied Research and Evaluation in Women’s Health go back to 2017 when the university received the largest research grant in its history to fund research and evaluation efforts aimed at reducing unintended and teen pregnancy and improving maternal health outcomes. Over the last three years, that project has blossomed into additional funding opportunities and an interprofessional team whose aim is to advance women’s health by engaging in research that informs policy and practice.

The center’s work addresses the multiple determinants of health at the individual, health system, social and policy levels, with a focus on how state and federal policies and programs affect women’s health and health care over time. The center will provide training opportunities for junior faculty and fellows and provides valuable research experience for students.

“When you look at indicators such as teen birth, cancer mortality, or cardiovascular disease, women’s health is clearly not where it needs to be in rural areas,” said Amal Khoury, director of CARE Women’s Health and a professor in the College of Public Health at the university. “Rural women carry a disproportionate burden of disease and disability.”