Image of MaryCatherine Elizabeth Arbour, MD

Mary Catherine Arbour, MD

Assistant Professor of Medicine
617-732-5540

MaryCatherine Arbour, MD, MPH is an Associate Physician at the Division of Global Health Equity, a Senior Research Associate at the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, and an Instructor in Medicine at Harvard Medical School. She performs global health research aimed at designing and evaluating interdisciplinary, community-based interventions in resource-poor settings with the goal of reducing inequities around the world. She directs the health component of Un Buen Comienzo, a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a preschool health and education intervention in Santiago, Chile. Dr. Arbour also performs interventions and research in post-disaster settings, including post-tsunami Indonesia (2005), post-earthquake Haiti (2010), and post-earthquake Chile (2010). Dr. Arbour earned a BA in Biological Anthropology at Swarthmore College, an MD from Harvard Medical School and an MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health. 

Address

Brigham and Women' Hospital
Global Health Equity
75 Francis Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02115

Dr. Arbour’s research projects include:

  • The first national quality improvement collaborative for home visiting services (HV CoIIN, Home Visiting Collaboration for Improvement and Innovation Network, US Department of Maternal and Child Health), which improved services for low-income families with young children and outcomes in child developmental surveillance and screening, maternal depression, and breastfeeding. HV CoIIN 2.0 was funded to spread these improvements to 25 states and 250 home visiting programs.
  • Expansion of a universal, pediatric primary care approach that addresses social determinants of health by embedding a community health worker in a team that integrates representatives from and leverages the strengths of three sectors—early childhood, legal, and health (DULCE, Developmental Understanding and Legal Collaboration for Everyone),
  • Cluster-randomized trial of a school-based intervention to improve children’s health and learning in public preschools in Chile, subsequently scaled up through learning collaboratives and evaluated using quasi-experimental designs in latter expansion.
  • Post-disaster interventions and assessments, including after the 2005 tsunami in Indonesia, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the 2010 earthquake in Chile.
Turning Off the Tap: Using the FAST Approach to Stop the Spread of Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis in the Russian Federation.
Authors: Authors: Miller AC, Livchits V, Ahmad Khan F, Atwood S, Kornienko S, Kononenko Y, Vasilyeva I, Keshavjee S.
J Infect Dis
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mHealth intervention to improve the continuum of maternal and perinatal care in rural Guatemala: a pragmatic, randomized controlled feasibility trial.
Authors: Authors: Martinez B, Ixen EC, Hall-Clifford R, Juarez M, Miller AC, Francis A, Valderrama CE, Stroux L, Clifford GD, Rohloff P.
Reprod Health
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Assessing retention in care after 12 months of the Pediatric Development Clinic implementation in rural Rwanda: a retrospective cohort study.
Authors: Authors: Bayitondere S, Biziyaremye F, Kirk CM, Magge H, Hann K, Wilson K, Mutaganzwa C, Ngabireyimana E, Nkikabahizi F, Shema E, Tugizimana DB, Miller AC.
BMC Pediatr
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Early changes in intervention coverage and mortality rates following the implementation of an integrated health system intervention in Madagascar.
Authors: Authors: Garchitorena A, Miller AC, Cordier LF, Rabeza VR, Randriamanambintsoa M, Razanadrakato HR, Hall L, Gikic D, Haruna J, McCarty M, Randrianambinina A, Thomson DR, Atwood S, Rich ML, Murray MB, Ratsirarson J, Ouenzar MA, Bonds MH.
BMJ Glob Health
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CASITA: a controlled pilot study of community-based family coaching to stimulate early child development in Lima, Peru.
Authors: Authors: Nelson AK, Miller AC, Munoz M, Rumaldo N, Kammerer B, Vibbert M, Lundy S, Soplapuco G, Lecca L, Condeso A, Valdivia Y, Atwood SA, Shin SS.
BMJ Paediatr Open
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Child malnutrition in Ifanadiana district, Madagascar: associated factors and timing of growth faltering ahead of a health system strengthening intervention.
Authors: Authors: McCuskee S, Garchitorena A, Miller AC, Hall L, Ouenzar MA, Rabeza VR, Ramananjato RH, Razanadrakato HR, Randriamanambintsoa M, Barry M, Bonds MH.
Glob Health Action
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In Madagascar, Use Of Health Care Services Increased When Fees Were Removed: Lessons For Universal Health Coverage.
Authors: Authors: Garchitorena A, Miller AC, Cordier LF, Ramananjato R, Rabeza VR, Murray M, Cripps A, Hall L, Farmer P, Rich M, Orlan AV, Rabemampionona A, Rakotozafy G, Randriantsimaniry D, Gikic D, Bonds MH.
Health Aff (Millwood)
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A quality improvement project using statistical process control methods for type 2 diabetes control in a resource-limited setting.
Authors: Authors: Flood D, Douglas K, Goldberg V, Martinez B, Garcia P, Arbour M, Rohloff P.
Int J Qual Health Care
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Emotional, physical, and social needs among 0-5-year-old children displaced by the 2010 Chilean earthquake: associated characteristics and exposures.
Authors: Authors: Arbour M, Murray KA, Yoshikawa H, Arriet F, Moraga C, Vega MA.
Disasters
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A retrospective review of the Pediatric Development Clinic implementation: a model to improve medical, nutritional and developmental outcomes of at-risk under-five children in rural Rwanda.
Authors: Authors: Ngabireyimana E, Mutaganzwa C, Kirk CM, Miller AC, Wilson K, Dushimimana E, Bigirumwami O, Mukakabano ES, Nkikabahizi F, Magge H.
Matern Health Neonatol Perinatol
View full abstract on Pubmed