Dr. Dana Beck’s current projects focus on community-partnered co-design and implementation of policy and health systems solutions for individuals at the intersections of perinatal health, behavioral health, and social determinants of health.
Learn more about her work:
Collaborative research to improve outcomes of African American women and children
Dr. Beck is co-leading a research project with Diamond Lee, Savanna Carson, and TaVia Wooley designed to evaluate how a paid lived experience advisory board can improve health and wellness of African American mothers and children across LA County.
MotherBoard celebrates community-led advocacy and healing for Black families
MotherBoard aims to empower Black mothers, families, and communities, partnering with government agencies, philanthropic organizations, and institutions to co-design strategies centered on community needs. From 2024-2025, the inaugural MotherBoard cohort organized seven public educational workshops reaching 150 Black mothers and families, covering topics such as financial abundance, healthy movement, advocacy in medicine, and self-care. Dr. Beck and co-founders of MotherBoard are presenting their year 1 evaluation at the upcoming Academy Health conference and preparing a manuscript for publication.
Screening & treating maternal psychological health key to improving cardiovascular health
Dr. Beck is co-author on a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association. The statement focuses on the importance of identifying and treating risk factors for depression, anxiety, and other psychological health conditions during pregnancy and postpartum to help improve short- and long-term cardiovascular health outcomes for both mother and child.
Dr. Beck is Co-I on the Los Angeles Maternal Mental Health Access (LAMMHA) project. Her current work as part of the evaluation team is focused on understanding community priorities, preferences, and needs in relationship to use of the collaborative care model for perinatal mental health in LA County FQHCs and how this intersects with implementation success.
Dr. Beck also supports implementation and evaluation efforts related to early pregnancy management in partnership with the Women’s Health Programs and Innovation team within the LA County Department of Health Services and serves as a clinician on the C121 line. A manuscript focused on implementation of the C121 program is currently under review. She currently leads a project in partnership with the PROMISE team and Substance Abuse Prevention and Control contracted sites working to understand how psychiatric consultation lines can optimize their services for pregnant and postpartum individuals who experience substance use disorder.