Molly Altman she/her PhD, CNM, MPH, FACNM

I’m an associate professor in the Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing department and core faculty in the nurse-midwifery and women’s health clinical nurse specialist tracks of the DNP program. My experience as a nurse-midwife in clinical practice for over 18 years has provided the grounding for my program of research around respectful and equitable care provision during pregnancy and childbirth. My research focus is on pregnant and pregnant-capable people’s experiences interacting with health care providers in the context of respectful care provision, particularly regarding racism, discrimination, and bias in health care interactions during reproductive care. My current program of research uses a variety of methods including in-depth qualitative methodologies, instrument development, and community-based participatory methods to assess and address issues in care provision for communities at risk for poor reproductive outcomes, specifically BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities.

Education:

2018 – Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California San Francisco

2015 – Ph.D. in Nursing Science, Washington State University

2006 – MPH in Maternal Child Health Epidemiology, University of Washington

2005 – MN in Nurse-Midwifery, University of Washington

2002 – BSN, University of Vermont

Awards, accolades and distinguished memberships:

2022      APEX Award for Publication Excellence in Print Media related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for “Addressing Positionality within Case-Based Learning to Mitigate Systemic Racism in Health Care” – Nurse Educator

2022       Troop Fund Scholar – University of Washington

2022       Excellence in Teaching Award – American College of Nurse-Midwives

2022       Protégé Award Nominee – Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research

2021       Protégé Award Nominee – Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research

2021       Finalist for the American College of Nurse-Midwives Mary Ann Shah Award

2021       Best Research Article Award for “Listening to Women: Recommendations from women of color to improve experiences in pregnancy and birth care” – Journal of Midwifery & Women’s Health

2021      Nurse Researcher Award – Washington State Nurses Association Professional Nursing and Health Care Council

2021. Inducted Fellow – American College of Nurse-Midwives
2022. Van Hooser Scholar – University of Washington
2023. Real Healthcare Hero Award Nominee – American Red Cross California

2017      Preterm Birth Initiative Discovery Aim Research Scholar – UC San Francisco

2015. Excellence in Teaching Award – American College of Nurse-Midwives

What classes do you teach?

NURS 541, NURS 542, NURS 543, NMETH 801, NURS 573

What do you love about the UW School of Nursing?

My joy with working in the UW School of Nursing comes from the students. I love the reciprocity of teaching and learning that is nurtured within the DNP program. I learn just as much from my students as I could ever impart on them. My work and passion fits within the larger School of Nursing mission to improve equity and better support students from historically excluded communities, and I’m proud to continue the work of bringing anti-racism into nursing education.

Scholarly work (projects not listed in PubMed, such as books, publications or videos)

Afulani PA, Altman MR, Castillo E, Bernal N, Jones L, Camara T, Carrasco Z, Williams S, Sudhinaraset M, Kupperman M. Development of the Person-Centered Prenatal Care scale for people of color. American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2021, April. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2021.04.216.

 

Altman MR, Gavin AR, Eagen-Torkko MK, Kantrowitz-Gordon I, Khosa R, Mohammed SA. Where the system failed: the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on pregnancy and birth care. Global Qualitative Nursing Research, 2021, March. doi.org/10.1177/23333936211006397

 

Altman MR, Kim J, Busse M, Ervin A, Unite M, Kantrowitz-Gordon I. Community-engaged research  priority setting around opioid use disorder in pregnancy and parenting. Journal of Addiction Medicine, 2020 Nov. doi:10.1097/ADM.0000000000000783.

 

Altman MR, Kantrowitz-Gordon I, Moise E, Malcolm K, Vidakovic M, Barrington W, O’Connor MR, de Castro AB. Addressing positionality to mitigate systemic racism within case-based learning. Nurse Educator, 2020, Oct 31.. doi: 10.1097/NNE.0000000000000937.

 

Altman MR, McLemore MR, Oseguera T, Lyndon A, Franck L. Listening to women: Recommendations from women of color to improve experiences in pregnancy and birth care. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health, 2020 June. doi: 10.1111/jmwh.13102

 

Altman MR, Oseguera T, McLemore MR, Kantrowitz-Gordon I, Franck L, Lyndon A. Information and Power: Women of color’s experiences interacting with health care providers in pregnancy and birth. Social Science and Medicine, 2019 Oct, 238: 112491. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112491.

 

Altman MR, Baer RB, Jelliffe-Pawlowski LL. Patterns of preterm birth among women of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander descent. American Journal of Perinatology, 2018, Dec 21. doi: 10.1055/s-0038-1676487

 

McLemore MR, Altman MR, Cooper N, Williams S. Rand L, Franck L. Health care experiences of pregnant and postnatal women of color at risk for preterm birth. Social Science & Medicine, 2018; 201: 127-135.

Research Areas

• Community engaged research
• LGBTQ+ communities
• Respectful perinatal care
• Health care disparities

Department

Child, Family, and Population Health Nursing

Research Areas

• Innovative Interventions
• Health Equity
• Lifespan Health