Whitney S. Rice

Research Assistant Professor
Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University

Whitney S. Rice, DrPH, MPH is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences at the Emory Rollins School of Public Health, and a Research Investigator at the Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast. Dr. Rice leverages training and transdisciplinary expertise from health care organization and policy, health services research, and maternal and child health disciplines in the pursuit of greater equity in sexual and reproductive health outcomes, care delivery, and scholarship. Her current research broadly examines the implications of structural stigma (stigma manifested at policy, institutional and systems levels) for healthcare utilization and health outcomes in family planning and other sexual and reproductive health contexts (i.e., HIV prevention and perinatal health). Dr. Rice is committed to patient and stakeholder-centered production and translation of scientific evidence, and to the mentorship and inclusion of trainees in this work.

  • Person-centered contraceptive access promotes reproductive autonomy, sexual wellbeing, menstrual regulation, and other preventive health measures. However, contraceptive access varies by social and geographic position, reflecting patterns in the US contraceptive access policy climate. State-level contraceptive access policies can enable access to family planning care, particularly for systemically marginalized and less socioeconomically advantaged groups, or conversely, may disproportionately disadvantage such communities.

    June 1, 2022

  • Twelve-Year Trends in US State-Level Contraceptive Access Policies

    Unfettered access to contraception is a critical component of reproductive autonomy. Allowing people to control choices related to their own childbearing and to independently plan their families results in improved economic, social, and health outcomes for people capable of pregnancy and their families, such as improved mental health and well-being, increased educational attainment and workforce participation, and financial stability.

    December 15, 2021

  • Quality preventive medical care remains one of the most important tools for mitigating diseases like cancer, hypertension and heart disease, which are leading causes of death and disability in the U.S. However, due to persistent social and economic inequities, preventive services remain inaccessible to many people.

    April 9, 2020

    Has Evidence