Additional Positions
- Assistant Professor of Neurology
- Associate Director, Child Neurology Clinical Research
Meet Dr. Laura Kirkpatrick
Laura Kirkpatrick, MD is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology. Her research is focused on optimizing reproductive health counseling and care for adolescent and young adult women with epilepsy. She also conducts research on the transition from pediatric to adult healthcare and physician-patient/family communication about difficult diagnoses.
Kirkpatrick L, Collins A, Sogawa Y, Talabi MB, Harrison E, Kazmerski TM. Sexual and reproductive healthcare for adolescent and young adult women with epilepsy: a qualitative study of pediatric neurologists and epileptologists. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2020;104(PartA):106911.
- Semi-structured interviews with child neurologists revealed that they believe counseling adolescents with epilepsy about reproductive health is important and is among their responsibilities, but there are gaps in the frequency and quality of their counseling.
Kirkpatrick L, Harrison E, Borrero S, Miller E, Sogawa Y, Stransky OM, Talabi MB, Urban A, Kazmerski TM. Sexual and reproductive health concerns of women with epilepsy beginning in adolescence and young adulthood. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2021;125:108439.
- Semi-structured interviews with women with pediatric-onset epilepsy revealed anxieties beginning in adolescence and childhood about their ability to become pregnant, the safety of pregnancy, risks to their children, the heritability of epilepsy, and birth control.
Vasudevan G, Filipink R, Gaesser J, Kazmerski TM, Sogawa Y, Kirkpatrick L. Preferences and experiences of parents/guardians of youth with epilepsy and intellectual disability on reproductive health counseling. Epilepsy & Behavior. 2024:152:109658.
- Semi-structured interviews with parents of youth with epilepsy and co-occurring intellectual disability revealed that they want reproductive health counseling for their child, particularly prioritizing menstrual regulation, but that counseling seldom occurs.
Bell LA, Tyler CP, Russell MR, Szoko N, Harrison EI, Kazmerski TM, Syed T, Kirkpatrick L. Preferences and experiences regarding pregnancy options counseling in adolescence and young adulthood: a qualitative study. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2023;73:164-171.
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Semi-structured interviews with people who experienced pregnancy in adolescence revealed that they wanted comprehensive, unbiased, and compassionate pregnancy options counseling that included holistic discussion of their lives and support systems and facilitation of follow-up. However, such counseling seldom actually happened.
- Epilepsy
- Adolescent health
- Reproductive health
- Transition of care
- Child neurology
- Pediatric neurology
- Women's neurology
- Neurology