Liberal Arts alum Dr. Kelsey Binion and Dr. Maria Brann to share groundbreaking reproductive grief research outcomes at national symposium

Indiana University Indianapolis (IUI) and the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care®, the global authority on reproductive grief care research and education, announced that Dr. Maria Brann, professor in the IU School of Liberal Arts Communication Studies, and Dr. Kelsey Binion, a recent IU School of Liberal Arts Communication Studies Health Communication alum, earning her master’s and PhD in 2019 and 2023 respectively, will be speaking at the Institute’s Symposium on reproductive grief care.

The Symposium takes place at the Institute’s San Diego headquarters on March 22, 2024. It brings together professionals from across the academic, healthcare and business sectors, including Drs. Brann and Binion, to learn and share groundbreaking research and best practices related to pregnancy loss and reproductive grief care.

“We look forward to Drs. Brann and Binion presenting as part of our impressive array of speakers,” said Dr. Michaelene Fredenburg, president and CEO of the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care. “Their research and innovative approach to reproductive grief care will be an important part of this event.”

As Drs. Brann and Binion’s presentation is one of the highlights of the 2024 Symposium, it will be held in the Barbara Caster Memorial Auditorium.

Their session is called Exploring the Use of Theatre to Inform and Shape Behaviors About Infertility. It discusses how a staged reading about infertility (“Am I Broken?”) highlights the emotional, physical, and social consequences of reproductive grief to educate community members about its stigmatizing nature. Symposium participants will interact and engage with fictional stories, grounded in real experiences, to learn how theatre can represent the infertility illness experience that cannot be described in words.

“The presentation by Drs. Brann and Binion will be extremely innovative and groundbreaking,” added Fredenburg. “They are playing an important and integral part in transforming cultural attitudes and healthcare practices that impact those experiencing reproductive loss, especially infertility.”

 Dr. Maria Brann is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies, IU School of Liberal Arts in Indianapolis. Dr. Brann explores the integration of health, interpersonal, and gender communication. Her translational focus and mixed methods approach are woven throughout her health vulnerabilities research, which advocates for more effective communication to improve people’s health. Most notably, she seeks to understand the interpersonal communicative negotiations and societal view of reproductive loss as well as the promotion of more empathic provider communication during bad news delivery. She serves on the Health Care Task Force for the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care. She is the editor of Contemporary Case Studies in Health Communication: Theoretical & Applied Approaches. Her work on reproductive loss has been published in numerous refereed journals including Health Communication, Patient Education and Counseling, Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, Journal of Applied Communication Research, and Qualitative Health Research and several scholarly books including Gender in Applied Communication Contexts, Pregnancy Loss: A Narrative Collection, Casing the Family: Theoretical and Applied Approaches to Understanding Family Communication, and Casing Communication Theory. Her work has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Indiana State Department of Health, the Central States Communication Association, the IUI Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research, the IUI Arts and Humanities Institute, and the IU School of Liberal Arts.

Dr. Kelsey Binion is a research associate in the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health in Indianapolis, Indiana. As a health communication scholar, Dr. Binion's research centers on how individuals talk about stigmatizing health issues (e.g., mental health, reproductive health) in everyday conversations. Her scholarship reflects an applied approach to research because she is interested in identifying tangible solutions and/or recommendations for the community. Dr. Binion is passionate about using arts-based methodologies to translate research findings into creative modalities to help bridge the gap between academia and the community. Using funding from IUI Arts and Humanities Institute, Dr. Binion wrote and directed a theatrical performance (“Am I Broken?”) that highlighted women’s infertility experiences. Dr. Binion is also a recent School of Liberal Arts Communication Studies Health Communication alum earning her master’s and PhD in 2019 and 2023 respectively.