Innovations in Community-Based Care

For Jean Anderson, MD, FACOG, working in medicine wasn’t just a pathway to new experiences: it was a novel undertaking in and of itself. Of her pursuit of a career in medicine, she said: “Becoming a doctor was not a particularly common dream for young girls then and that appealed to me as well, because I wanted to be different; I experienced a certain delight in confounding people’s preconceptions and expectations.”

Dr. Anderson’s ambition and imagination were fostered at an early age by her maternal grandmother, who shared stories of medical phenomena and illnesses that piqued Dr. Anderson’s interest. At first Dr. Anderson wanted to pursue psychiatry, but ultimately entered obstetrics and gynecology, calling it “a good blend of surgery and medicine, prevention and cure, primary and specialty care.” Shortly after beginning to work at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1987, some six years into the HIV/AIDS epidemic, she was invited to work in the hospital’s newly established clinic for women with HIV. Accepting that position allowed her to help found and establish the Johns Hopkins HIV Women’s Health Care Program, which to this day provides comprehensive reproductive health care to women with HIV and AIDS.

At the onset of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, little was known about its effects on the groups of people who were primarily becoming infected; less still was known about its effects in people who represented a smaller percentage of those affected, including women and women who were pregnant. Together with her colleagues, Dr. Anderson realized that specialized reproductive health care was necessary for women with HIV and AIDS, who were at higher risk of developing cervical cancer, cardiac conditions, and more severe cases of STIs—and for pregnant women with HIV and AIDS, who needed unique care to prevent transmission of HIV to their fetus or infant after birth.

Dr. Anderson was up to the challenge. She helped guide the program toward an approach to care that incorporated social support, making Johns Hopkins Hospital one of the first programs to employ peer-to-peer counseling for program participants. Many of the peer counselors themselves lived with HIV, providing invaluable emotional and social support for patients who had only just been diagnosed with a disease that was stigmatized, poorly understood, and often fatal.

Today the program continues to undertake a “community-based, culturally sensitive” approach to caring for women with HIV. Dr. Anderson’s approach to caring for women with HIV and AIDS didn’t just allow for innovations in medical care: it allowed for innovations between peers that allowed patients to make vital connections with each other during incredibly difficult periods of their lives.

Learn more about Dr. Anderson.

ACOG’s 2024 Women in Medicine Month series, centered around the theme Innovators in Ob-Gyn Equity, highlights women throughout history who have made novel contributions to their patients, their profession, and their community. Read our other Women in Medicine Month stories to learn more.