Jennifer Yarger, PhD
Assistant Professor
Institute for Health Policy Studies
School of Medicine

Her research focuses on access to sexual and reproductive health information and services and disparities in reproductive health outcomes, particularly among adolescents and young adults. She also develops and tests interventions to improve youth access to care and support reproductive autonomy.

Dr. Yarger was selected as a scholar in the UCSF-KPNC Urologic Epidemiology (UroEpi) K12 Career Development Program in 2023. She is expanding her research to include youth access to care for urinary tract infections (UTI) and other genitourinary conditions.

Dr. Yarger holds a PhD in Public Policy and Sociology from the University of Michigan, where she also received training in demography and population science.

• Use of preferred contraceptive method among young adults in Texas and California: A comparison by state and insurance coverage.
  PloS one 2023 Hopkins K, Yarger J, Rossetto I, Sanchez A, Brown E, Elmes S, Mantaro T, White K, Harper CC
• Educational Intervention Among Adolescents and Young Adults on Emergency Contraception Options.
  The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 2023 Harper CC, Jones E, Brindis CD, Watson A, Schroeder R, Boyer CB, Edelman A, Trieu S, Yarger J
• Perceived Access to Contraception via Telemedicine Among Young Adults: Inequities by Food and Housing Insecurity.
  Journal of general internal medicine 2022 Yarger J, Hopkins K, Elmes S, Rossetto I, De La Melena S, McCulloch CE, White K, Harper CC
• Telehealth for Contraceptive Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Provider Perspectives.
  Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health 2022 Rao L, Comfort AB, Dojiri SS, Goodman S, Yarger J, Shah N, Folse C, Blum M, Hankin J, Harper CC
• Educators' Perspectives on Integrating Technology Into Sexual Health Education: Implementation Study.
  JMIR human factors 2022 Decker MJ, Harrison S, Price M, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Yarger J, Tenney R
• Young people's romantic relationships and sexual activity before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  BMC public health 2021 Yarger J, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Han S, Borgen N, Decker MJ
• An Educational Intervention to Raise Awareness of Contraceptive Options Among Young People.
  Journal of women's health (2002) 2021 Yarger J, Schroeder R, Cabral MA, Lamme JS, McCulloch CE, Trieu SL, de Jounge A, Harper CC
• Concerns About the Cost of Contraception Among Young Women Attending Community College.
  Women's health issues : official publication of the Jacobs Institute of Women's Health 2021 Yarger J, Schroeder R, Blum M, Cabral MA, Brindis CD, Perelli B, Harper CC
• Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Intervention Integrating Technology and In-Person Sexual Health Education for Adolescents (In the Know): Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.
  JMIR research protocols 2020 Decker MJ, Gutmann-Gonzalez A, Price M, Romero J, Sheoran B, Yarger J
• Trends in Adolescent Birth Rates in California: Examining the Influence of Community Characteristics Through Geographic and Temporal Analysis.
  The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 2019 Yarger J, Berglas NF, Campa M, Chabot M, Decker MJ
• Young Adults Changing Insurance Status: Gaps in Health Insurance Literacy.
  Journal of community health 2018 Tilley L, Yarger J, Brindis CD
• The Role of Publicly Funded Family Planning Sites In Health Insurance Enrollment.
  Perspectives on sexual and reproductive health 2017 Yarger J, Daniel S, Biggs MA, Malvin J, Brindis CD
• Rural-Urban Differences in Awareness and Use of Family Planning Services Among Adolescent Women in California.
  The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine 2016 Yarger J, Decker MJ, Campa MI, Brindis CD
• Implementation in Practice: Adaptations to Sexuality Education Curricula in California.
  The Journal of school health 2016 Arons A, Decker M, Yarger J, Malvin J, Brindis CD
• Black-White Differences in Attitudes Related to Pregnancy Among Young Women.
  Demography 2015 Barber JS, Yarger JE, Gatny HH
• Nonfamily Experience and Receipt of Personal Care in a Rapidly Changing Context.
  Ageing and society 2014 Yarger J, Brauner-Otto SR
• Does it matter how you ask? Question wording and males’ reporting of contraceptive use at last sex
  Social Science Research 2012 SarahBrauner-Otto, Jennifer Yarger, Joyce Abma