Ruth Appiah Kubi Delivers Summer Seminar at UMass Downtown

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Ruth Appiah Kubi

This past summer, health policy and management doctoral candidate Ruth Appiah Kubi delivered a talk as part of the new Summer Seminar Series at UMass Downtown.

The Summer Seminar Series, hosted by UMass Downtown and the UMass Amherst Graduate School, launched as a public speaker series connecting campus research with the community. Every week from June 17–August 5, UMass graduate student presenters shared their research, ideas, and work in an engaging and approachable format designed to spark conversation, curiosity, and connection. Each session offered a chance to hear directly from emerging scholars doing meaningful work across disciplines, with opportunities for discussion and community engagement.

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Ruth Appiah Kubi delivers her talk as part of the Summer Seminar Series at UMass Downtown

Appiah Kubi delivered a talk titled “Co-Creating Systems of Care That Support Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals.” In it, she discussed the range of experiences of women moving through pregnancy and birth – from feeling supported, safe, and cared for through feeling lost and unheard, with some instances snowballing into serious complications and, in the worst cases, contributing to preventable maternal deaths.

Appiah Kubi shared these stories, both uplifting and painful, that are happening in our own communities, and invited the audience to hold space for this range of experiences and to imagine the care, support, community-rooted change, policy, and advocacy efforts needed to help every mother feel seen, safe, and cared for.

Appiah Kubi examines patient-, provider-, and health system-level factors that shape maternal healthcare delivery and outcomes. Her research and collaborative work span the implementation of evidence-based interventions for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, particularly preeclampsia; birth mode and decision-making following cesarean delivery; transitions from obstetric to primary care following pregnancy-related hypertensive disorders; and healthcare access, including how transportation influences access to and experiences of prenatal care. Her global health research addresses maternal health workforce experiences and the intersectional distribution and population burden of undiagnosed HIV. She uses quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods across her research. 

She works under the guidance of Associate Professor Laura Attanasio.