unity in:

FACULTY MEMBER

Abby Mutic 19PhD, CNM

PARTNERS/COMMUNITY

The Center for Black Women’s Wellness and the Region 4 Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit (PEHSU), a network of reproductive and children’s environmental health experts

Through Prescriptions for Preventions, a partnership with the Center for Black Women’s Wellness in Atlanta, Black mothers will have a much-needed resource to address environmental health risks in and around their homes.

As a young, certified nurse-midwife caring for pregnant women in rural Missouri, Abby Mutic was struck by how many of them experienced environmental stressors. They wondered if exposures at work or home were affecting their health and threatening the health of their families and unborn babies.

To find more answers, Mutic entered the PhD program at Emory’s School of Nursing, where she studied prenatal exposure to flame retardant materials. Now an assistant professor, Mutic continues to focus on environmental impacts on health, especially in children of color.

Through research, community presentations, and health fair screenings, Mutic strives to identify the people most affected by harmful environmental exposures and help them address their concerns. She is partnering with Atlanta’s Center for Black Women’s Wellness (CBWW) on a program called Prescriptions for Prevention (RxP), which is set to roll out this year.

RxP will employ an environmental health screener to work with CBWW patients and families, sharing guidance from the Region 4 PEHSU in culturally relevant ways. During clinic visits, the screener will evaluate exposure risks and factors that may protect against risk or increase risk of poor health.

Reports of exposures or environmental concerns will automatically generate a flag in the electronic medical record, alerting health care providers to address and possibly investigate further. The “prescription” they give to clients will consist of information on how to find and use available resources to reduce exposure. — Sylvia Wrobel