Biography
McClain Sampson, Ph.D., is a nonresident fellow in maternal and reproductive health at the Center for Health and Biosciences. Sampson holds a dual appointment at the University of Houston’s (UH) Graduate College of Social Work, where she oversees the Healthy Start Initiative and the GLOBE Team Training programs. Sampson’s research portfolio includes the implementation and evaluation of a community-based program to reduce the risk of infant and maternal mortality, the assessment of a home visiting intervention for postpartum depression among low-income mothers, a feasibility and effectiveness study of a maternal medical home model in federally qualified health centers, and the evaluation of inter-professional health teams for behavioral health service delivery by social work and psychology students.
Sampson has been featured in the Houston Chronicle, KUHF Town Square and UH Moment for her expertise in community and academic partnerships and her efforts to improve perinatal health for women most at risk of adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. Sampson taught Qualitative Research Methods and Behavioral Health in Integrated Healthcare Settings at UH and provides workshops in motivational interviewing.
Sampson completed her postdoctoral research fellowship with the Baylor College of Medicine’s Department of Psychiatry, where she worked to reduce the risk of alcohol-exposed pregnancy among low-income women in Harris Health-integrated health care centers. She received a Ph.D. in social work from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Science in social work from the University of Tennessee.
Contact at [email protected] or 512-241-9464.
Recent Publications
In Houston Public Media: Texas extends postpartum coverage for mothers
"This is really good news," Sampson said. "The postpartum period, which is considered from right after childbirth, all the way up to 12 months postpartum, a lot of important health things need to be monitored." Sampson sees new extended Medicare and CHIP coverage for this period as a positive step towards valuing women's health.
External Publications
- “Prenatal and Childbirth Risk Factors of Postpartum Pain and Depression: A Machine Learning Approach,” Maternal and Child Health Journal, December 16, 2022.
- “A Promising New Model of Care for Postpartum Depression: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Brief Home Visitation Program Conducted in Houston, Texas, USA,” Health & Social Care in the Community, December 5, 2021.
- “‘You Withhold What You Are Feeling So You Can Have a Family’: Latinas’ Perceptions on Community Values and Postpartum Depression,” Family Medicine and Community Health, July 1, 2021.
- “Equipping Students for Practice: A Systematic Review of Standardized and Simulated Learning in Social Work Education,” Professional Development: The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, 2021.