Jack E. Turman, PhD, MS

Jack Turman, Jr., Ph.D. is a professor in the Dept. of Pediatrics at the IU School of Medicine. He has dedicated his years in academia to growing education, research and outreach programs that optimize maternal and child health (MCH) outcomes for marginalized communities. After graduating with his bachelor’s degree from Washington University in St. Louis, he earned his Ph.D. from UCLA and completed his postdoctoral fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine. He was a professor for 15 years at the University of Southern California where his work was recognized by the state legislative bodies for building university-community partnerships to improve maternal and child health. He was then a professor and program director at the University of Nebraska Medical Center wherein he created community-based programming to address racial disparities in birth outcomes in partnership with Omaha’s African American Community.

         He moved to Indiana in 2013 to become the Dean of the College of Health and Human Services at Indiana State University, where he worked to grow maternal and child health programming to serve rural, low-income moms and families in the Wabash Valley. He joined the faculty of Indiana University in 2017, where he founded and directs the Grassroots MCH Initiative. This multifaceted Initiative works to advance the human rights of women, children, and families by building the capacity of individuals and organizations to bring about systems change to improve the health and social outcomes for traditionally marginalized communities.

1. Moujahid, C, Turman, Jr., JE, Amahdar, L (2023) Scoping Review to Identify Social Determinants of Maternal Health in Morocco. International Journal of Social Determinants of Health and Health Services. DOI: 10.1177/27551938231217589
2. Wynns, W, Swigonski, N, Turman, Jr., JE (2023) A framework for faith-based maternal and child health promotion in the United States. Journal of Public Health. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-023-02135-5.
3. Ho, B, Turman, Jr., JE, Han, N, (2023) Health insurance coverage and poverty status of postpartum women in the United States in 2019: An ACS-PUMS population-based cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health. 1186/s12889-023-17087-4
4. Usigbe, J, Macey, E, Klemme, P, Williams, M, Turman, Jr, JE (2023) Applying a maternal standards of care audit tool and quality improvement process to improve healthcare for pregnant women in prison. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306624X231206518
5. Moujahid, C, Turman, Jr., JE, Amahdar, L (2023) Common Traditions, Practices, and Beliefs Related to Safe Motherhood and Newborn Health in Morocco. Healthcare: 11, 769, https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11050769.
6. Irby, A, Macey. E, Levine, N, Durham, JR, Turman, Jr., JE (2023) Grounding the Work of Grassroots Maternal and Child Health Leaders in Storytelling. Health Promotion Practice. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248399221151175
7. DiPietro Mager NA, Zollinger TW, Turman JE Jr, Zhang J, Dixon BE (2023) Preconception health status and associated disparities among rural, Midwestern women in the United States. Birth. 50(1):127-137. doi: 10.1111/birt.12706.
8. Toure, D, Gaurav, K, Walker, C, Turman, Jr, JE, Su, D (2022) Barriers to pediatric mental healthcare access: qualitative insights from caregivers. Journal of Social Service Research. DOI: 10.1080/01488376.2022.2088949.
9. Clark, AE, Macey, E, Irby, A, Stone, C, Pell Abernathy, M, Turman, Jr., JE (2022) Diverse perspectives to support a human rights approach to reduce Indiana’s maternal mortality rate. Humanity and Society. DOI: 10.1177/01605976221109785
10. Mager, A, Macey, E, Noe, K, Porter, N, Williams Sparks, M, Daniel, C, Hession, L, Magnett, O, Turman, Jr., JE (2022) Creating a coordinated system of care for mother-baby pairs transitioning from a prison nursery to their home community. Advancing Corrections. 13:125-138.
11. Turman, Jr., JE, Swigonski, N (2021) Changing Systems that Influence Birth Outcomes in Marginalized Zip Codes. Pediatrics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-049651
12. DiPietro Mager, NA, Zollinger, TW, Turman, Jr., JE, Zhang, J, Dixon, BE (2021) Routine healthcare utilization among reproductive-age women residing in a rural maternity care desert. J Comm Health. 46(1): 108-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00852-6.
13. Marquam, N, Irby, A, Casavan, K, Swigonski, N, Turman, Jr., JE (2020) NEEDED: Grassroots leaders to lead system change efforts that reduce infant mortality. Humanity and Society, https://doi.org/10.1177/0160597620969748
14. Skinner, L, Stiffler, D, Swigonski, N, Casavan, K, Irby, A, Turman, Jr., JE (2019) Grassroots maternal child health leadership curriculum. ENGAGE! 1(1):71-84.
15. Harper-Hanigan, K, Ross, G, Sims, T, Trotter, KJ, Turman, Jr., JE (2017) Women’s perspectives of needs surrounding adverse birth outcomes-a qualitative assessment of the neighborhood impact of adverse birth outcomes. J. Maternal Child Health, DOI: 10.1007/s10995-017-2343-7.