Josephine Granner

Josie Granner, PhD, BSN, RN (VA Scholar) completed her PhD at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. Her current research at focuses on improving the integration of health and social care for childbearing individuals. Specifically, she seeks to improve support during the transition to parenthood for new parents who have experienced child maltreatment trauma, particularly those who have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). This includes developing and testing interventions to support new parents’ mental health and early parenting as an approach to interrupt intergenerational transmission of trauma. She is currently collaborating with the VA to implement a front-line intervention for pregnant and postpartum women who experienced trauma (Survivor Moms’ Companion) throughout New England.

Dr. Granner is also working towards improving perinatal care delivery via changes in health policy at local, institutional, and national levels. This includes collaborating with the Yale Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE) and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to improve perinatal care delivery and quality measurement.

Dr. Granner’s earlier career included research in community-based approaches to empowering women in their reproductive life planning. She then moved on to study the childbearing year for new fathers who are survivors of trauma, as fathers are often under-supported in perinatal and pediatric spaces. Dr. Granner also served as a trauma-informed birth and postpartum doula, supporting many new parents who experienced child maltreatment themselves.