Dr. Katy Backes Kozhimannil PhD, MPA
Katy Backes Kozhimannil, PhD, MPA is the Distinguished McKnight University Professor in the Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health. She is Director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center and Co-Director of the University of Minnesota Rural Health Program. Dr. Kozhimannil lives on Dakota land (Mahto Bde).
Dr. Kozhimannil conducts research to inform health policy that impacts critical times in the lifecourse, including pregnancy and childbirth. The goal of her work is to contribute to the evidence base for clinical and policy strategies to advance racial, gender, and geographic equity.
Media coverage of her Dr. Kozhimannil’s research, including stories by the New York Times, Washington Post, and National Public Radio, has generated dialogue and policy action at local, state, and national levels. In 2013, Dr. Kozhimannil’s groundbreaking research was the first to bridge clinical evidence of the benefits of doulas support with policy efforts to increase access to these services by showing potential cost savings to state Medicaid programs that offer coverage of doula services. Findings from this research has led to laws in many U.S. states to increase access to doula care, including through Medicaid reimbursement.