University of Wisconsin–Madison Prevention Research Center Director Jill Denson, PhD, assistant professor, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, recently received funding to support her research project, “Where do the babies go? Infants of incarcerated mothers and their caregivers.” The project aims to learn what it is like for people who had babies while they were incarcerated as well as the experience of the people caring for their babies. This research is part of a larger effort to advance prison birth justice in Wisconsin and inform policy change surrounding appropriate prenatal, birthing, and postnatal support to improve the health care of people currently incarcerated. Denson received two awards to support this work.
On April 9, Denson accepted the 2023-2024 Community University Partnership Award from the UW’s Morgridge Center for Public Service. The $5,000 award will support her partnership with Community Doula Cheri Branham and JustDane Peer Support Program Coordinator Shanita Lawrence, community researchers on the project. Funds will be used to train members of the project’s community advisory board to actively participate in data collection, allowing community members to be more involved in research that directly impacts their communities.
Denson is also the recipient of a 2024 UW Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) Collaborative Health Equity Research (CHER) Pilot Award. Results of this study will provide data to support follow-up research that will create and implement effective interventions to support mother-infant bonding and reduce the adverse health effects of incarceration on mothers, children, and families. The award for $74,879 began on April 1, 2024, and runs through March 31, 2025.