Rada Dagher receives award for work on postpartum depression
Dr. Dagher with Sandra Hofferth (to her right) and members of the APHA
MPRC Faculty Associate Rada Dagher is the 2014 winner of the Young Professional Award of the Maternal and Child Health section of the American Public Health Association. This award recognizes a professional under age 40 who has made substantial contributions to the field of maternal and child health. Dr. Dagher received the award for outstanding research, teaching, and service addressing postpartum depression. She also researches how work policies and work-family conflicts influence workers' mental and physical health outcomes and health care expenditures.
A study led by Dr. Dagher, published by Women's Health Issues in May, found that mothers in the United States who have unintended pregnancies return to work sooner after childbirth than mothers whose pregnancy was intended. Dr. Dagher also led a study--published in the Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law in December 2013--that found that women who return to work sooner than six months after childbirth are at higher risk for postpartum depression. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Health Services Administration in the University of Maryland School of Public Health.