Dr. Rebecca Delafield appointed to Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Dr. Rebecca Delafield, whose research aims to fill the substantial gaps in maternal and perinatal health research in order to improve health and healthcare outcomes for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) communities, has been appointed the Jonathan and Karin Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health (FSPH).
The endowed chair was established by Dr. Jonathan Fielding, a national public health leader and distinguished professor-in-residence at FSPH; and Karin Fielding, also a longtime public health advocate. Its purpose is to support the work of an early-career faculty member who is developing innovative ways to solve persistent health disparities, and to strengthen the school’s position as a leader in advancing health equity.
In a statement about Delafield’s appointment, Jonathan and Karin Fielding noted: “Rebecca Delafield is a distinguished scholar who is conducting critical research to illuminate the inequities in maternal and child health and other services among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander populations, while working in partnership with community groups to expose and respond to their most pressing needs. We are proud to have her as the new Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity.”
Serious health complications and deaths resulting from pregnancy and childbirth have been on the rise in the U.S., with stark differences across racial and ethnic groups. In 2023, a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that the pregnancy-related mortality rate for NHPIs was more than 4.5 times higher than for all Asians and non-Hispanic whites, and five times higher than for Latinos. That finding was possible only because the CDC, for the first time, separately reported data on NHPIs rather than combining them with other Asian American groups, noted Delafield, an assistant professor in UCLA Fielding’s Department of Community Health Sciences.
“The NHPI population is one of the fastest-growing in the U.S., but in the past, their health outcomes have been rendered largely invisible because of the aggregation of data with all Asian American populations, which has contributed to a number of issues, including the underrepresentation of NHPIs in maternal and perinatal health research,” Delafield said. “What we do know is that NHPIs consistently have shown a lower engagement with prenatal care, despite high pregnancy rates. Learning more about sociocultural, access, and other factors that could be contributing to disparities in prenatal care is important to understanding what actions are needed to improve NHPI engagement with healthcare and, ultimately, improve health.”
Delafield was born in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands on the island of Saipan. She left with her mother at a young age and was raised in Iowa but often returned to visit her family on her father’s side. Delafield said her worldview was shaped by both her father, an internal medicine physician who practiced in Saipan, and her mother, a public interest attorney who worked with low-income families. During frequent visits to Saipan, Delafield said, family and community members would emphasize that although she lived away, she had roots in the islands. “I had an uncle who, no matter what I said I was interested in studying, would respond by saying, ‘There’s a need for that here,’” Delafield recalled. “It wasn’t until later that I realized I was being called to serve.”
After earning her MPH in maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Delafield moved to Hawai‘i, where she worked for the state Department of Health and a community health center before going back to school to earn her PhD in public health from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Delafield was a member of the university’s John A. Burns School of Medicine faculty when she was recruited to her current faculty position at UCLA Fielding in 2025.
Her current research, funded by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, aims to understand the shared challenges and distinct needs of NHPI mothers related to pregnancy and birthing. The Pasifika Mothers’ Survey of Perinatal Experience and Care (SPEAC) will enroll 300-400 NHPI women across the U.S. and U.S. territories. The online survey will ask about experiences with perinatal care — assessing issues such as the patient-clinician relationship and communication factors associated with high-quality care, as well as perceived discrimination and engagement in prenatal care.
In all her work, Delafield prioritizes close partnerships with community-based organizations. “There have been many great public health advances over the years, but particularly in maternal health, the disparities persist,” Delafield said. “Communities are where many of the best solutions are generated. I want to learn from these organizations and use the strengths we have as academics to support the great work that’s being done on the ground.”
“A very important aspect of Dr. Delafield’s research is that she integrates conventional models of healthcare delivery with indigenous and community-driven frameworks,” said Dr. Gilbert Gee, professor and chair of UCLA Fielding’s Department of Community Health Sciences. “Her use of such frameworks allows her to uncover ideas that are consistent with the values and logic of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander communities, recognizing not only many things that Westerners are familiar with — including access to quality care and social determinants such as education — but also placing value on lands, oceans, animals, and ancestors. For an issue as intimate and profound as giving birth, understanding these nuances will allow her to develop interventions that are likely to be implemented, supported, and sustained.”
Traditionally in academia, endowed chairs are awarded to senior investigators who have established a long track record. The Jonathan and Karin Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity is unusual in its mission of supporting talented early-career faculty members, providing them with the discretionary funding that can advance work poised to make a major impact on issues of health equity. The chair carries a five-year term and can be held by a faculty member from any of the school’s five academic departments — a reflection of the fact that health equity is addressed by multiple disciplines. Delafield is the second holder of the chair, succeeding Dr. Lara Cushing, associate professor in FSPH’s Department of Environmental Health Sciences.
“Our school is incredibly fortunate to have the support of visionary public health champions in Jonathan and Karin Fielding who recognize the value of investing in promising young faculty early in their career,” said Dr. Ron Brookmeyer, dean and distinguished professor of biostatistics at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. “The Jonathan and Karin Fielding Presidential Chair in Health Equity is a tremendous asset for its ability to draw outstanding individuals like Rebecca Delafield to the school and accelerate the kind of work that is essential if we are to address the unacceptable gaps in health outcomes.”
Delafield said she hopes to leverage the funding flexibility and prestige of the appointment to build a national network of community and academic groups dedicated to improving the health of NHPI populations, as well as serving as a mentor to students. “This is a huge honor, and I’m deeply moved to be recognized in this way,” she said. “I am extremely grateful to the Fieldings and the school, as well as to my community and academic mentors. I am very much a product of all of that investment.”
