Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health
Grant Status: Completed
Training Category: Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Education Science and Practice
Project Director(s):
Anita M Farel, DrPH
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Maternal and Child Health / Gillings School of Global PH 421 Pittsboro Street, 406 Rosenau Hall,
CB# 7445
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7445
Phone: (919) 966-5983
FAX: (919) 966-0458
Email: anita_farel@unc.edu
Problem:
Population data regarding maternal, infant and child/adolescent mortality and morbidity document a slowing or reversal of progress. Residential and online leadership training are needed to reach our goal for improving physical/mental health, safety & well-being for all who meet the MCH definition.
Goals and Objectives:
Goal 1: To train and mentor diverse trainee cohorts through exposure to MCH values and competencies. Objective 1: 1.1. Recruit and mentor a racially/ethnically diverse student body. Objective 2: 1.2. Award four 1st year master's and three doctoral students MCH traineeships. Goal 2: To collaborate with the UNC MCH Leadership Training Consortium in offering an interdisciplinary approach to leadership training, family/professional collaboration, and cultural competence. Objective 1: 2.1. Expand integration of Family-Professional Partnership in the MCH-PH Training Program through the UNC Consortium in collaboration with the NC Title V Family Council by sponsoring Family Fellows. Objective 2: 2.2. Expand the 3-day Consortium leadership development workshop to additional interdisciplinary MCH residential and distance trainees annually with access to 'just-in-time' online leadership modules. Goal 3: To improve capacity for workforce development through distance education to mid-career MCH professionals through MCH ole'! and the Southeast Public Health Training Center (SPHTC). Objective 1: 3.1. Establish an online MPH and MSPH master's degree program in MCH by 2012. Objective 2: 3.2. Collaborate with the SPHTC to address MCH trainee and workforce continuing education priorities in Women's Health through curriculum development & residential and online delivery by 2012. Goal 4: To advance the evidence base for MCH practice through faculty and student research and the dissemination and application of new knowledge into action. Objective 1: 4.1. Obtain research funding from federal, state, and foundation grant and contract sources annually. Objective 2: 4.2. Sustain faculty/student productivity in research dissemination & translation to practice annually. Goal 5: To provide technical assistance through a curriculum integrated with community engagement. Objective 1: 5.1. Provide consultation and technical assistance to local, state, regional and national Title V agencies that serve the MCH population in response to requests from the field. Objective 2: 5.2. Facilitate/supervise field practicum experiences for master's students in local, state, regional and national Title V agencies that serve the MCH population.
Methodology:
The Department of MCH will offer four graduate degrees, the MPH, the MSPH, PhD, DrPH and a new 10-credit online Certificate in MCH Leadership. We will establish an online MPH/MSPH to meet the needs of mid-career professionals. Recruitment of diverse, interdisciplinary cohorts will be advanced through MCH and SPH initiatives. We will mentor junior MCH faculty to ensure 'succession planning'. Expanded opportunities for executive leadership development will be implemented through the UNC MCH Leadership Consortium. We will serve the field through engaged scholarship with the Title V practice community. Through CE and graduate curricula, family-centered and culturally competent practice will be promoted at an individual and organizational level.
Coordination:
The proposed PH training grant will coordinate many of its activities in collaboration with North Carolina's Title V program, its Family Council, and the Southeast Public Health Training Center.
Evaluation:
Evaluation strategy integrates: process, outcome, and impact and include an assessment of outcomes at the level of the individual learner. Additional assessment will be the extent to which the UNC MCH PH Leadership Education Program meets national performance measures for MCHB training programs and long-term trainee impact.
Experience to Date:
During 2010-11 we had many notable accomplishments. Enhancements to our residential MCH teaching program and leadership training included 3 new MCH courses and an overall increase in the annual cohort of new students admitted for this AY. By building on a distance education initiative introduced in 2009-10 with an online 10-credit Certificate in MCH Leadership, the Department received final approvals and began offering equivalent online MPH and MSPH degree programs in MCH in 2011. These activities increased the reach of our training program and further align us with contemporary MCH competencies and the life course perspective. Extending beyond our department, through collaboration with the UNC MCH Consortium and NC Family Council, we continued to offer a rich, interdisciplinary leadership experience to UNC fellows in MCH, Social Work, LEND, and Audiology and Speech and Language Pathology, and Family Discipline Fellows selected in collaboration with NC Title V. Finally, our commitment to work closely with Title V to advance the field through engaged scholarship has been sustained, with highlights on research, training and practice contributions described in annual progress reports.