Center for Health Equity Research and Promotion

Profile

Deirdre Quinn, PhD, MSc, MLitt (she/her) is a CHERP Core Investigator, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Internal Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, and VA HSR Career Development Award (CDA) recipient. Her research focuses on individual, relational, and structural influences on sexual and reproductive health, with a particular interest in the role of policy in improving individual and family health. Her current VA HSR-funded work examines how links between Veterans' pre-pregnancy health risks (e.g., chronic conditions) and healthcare experiences, social characteristics (e.g., race/ethnicity, rurality), and maternal outcomes can inform interventions to improve women Veterans' healthcare.

Dr. Quinn also co-leads VA's Contraception on Demand (COD) program, which works to expand Veterans' access to patient-centered contraceptive care through pharmacist provision and 12-month dispensing. Begun in 2021 as a 2-site demonstration project at VA Pittsburgh and VA Puget Sound, COD was a winner of the VHA Shark Tank competition in 2022 and was named a National VA Promising Practice and chosen for national diffusion in 2023. Dr. Quinn and her team are now working with VA Diffusion of Excellence to spread COD across the VA enterprise.

Dr. Quinn earned her PhD in Family Science from the University of Maryland School of Public Health and completed a VA Advanced Fellowship in Women's Health at VAPHS. She also holds an MSc in Gender and Social Policy from the London School of Economics & Political Science and an MLitt in Creative Writing from the University of St. Andrews.