Maternal and Child Health Training Grant
Grant Status: Active
Training Category: Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health Education Science and Practice
Project Director(s):
Henning Tiemeier, MD, MSc, PhD
Professor of Social and Behavioral Science
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences
Department of Epidemiology
Harvard University
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health
677 Huntington Ave., Kresge Building, Room 619
Boston, MA 02115
Phone: (617) 432-1081
Email: tiemeier@hsph.harvard.edu
Problem:
The United States lags behind most developed countries in indicators of maternal and child health. To improve the health status of women, infants, children, youth, and their families requires leaders in Maternal and Child Health with the competencies identified by the Division of MCH Workforce Development.
Goals and Objectives:
Goal 1: To recruit and support a diverse student group for masters and doctoral education in leadership in MCH by 1.) funding the tuition public health, and assuring student diversity in 2.) terms of underrepresented minorities (15%) and 3.) disciplinary background.
Goal 2: To provide masters, doctoral and post-doctoral education for leadership in MCH 1.) using a curriculum reflecting MCH leadership competencies, 2.) having students demonstrate research or service expertise, and 3.) providing leadership opportunities for students
Goal 3: To provide resources and best practices in teaching MCH by 1.) creating 1-2 shareable teaching resources per year, 2.) creating an MCH teaching practices toolkit, 3.) organizing 1-2 webinars per year on emerging issues in MCH, and 4.) engaging current MCH practitioners in educational activities.
Goal 4: To provide technical assistance to enhance the capacities of community-based organizations by 1.) engaging 15-20 students in technical assistance to Title V and community-based organizations, 2.) supporting MCH faculty to provide technical assistance, 3.) expanding the database of MCH data resources, 4) maintaining the Maternal Health Task Force, and 5.) continuing to collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control to expand technical assistance by designing evaluations of Title V programs.
Goal 5: To develop and disseminate new knowledge through 1.) the research of the faculty and 2.) students and 3.) continuing an investigation into the long-term health of vulnerable families.
Methodology:
Addressing these goals and objectives reflects a well-established training program of the interdepartmental concentration of MCH at The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This environment provides a rich array of courses to train masters and doctoral students according to the MCH competencies and leadership opportunities. The faculty are nationally known and are experts who can provide the continuing education and technical assistance, and recognized for the research contributions. Efforts such as local practica and the Centers for Disease Control/Harvard evaluation project are well established and successful.
Coordination:
The project coordinates with other MCH training programs at Harvard, local and regional NGO's, Title V, and the larger Departments of Public Health, but we recruit nationally, and our students serve nationally before graduation and after.
Evaluation:
Completion of degree requirements and course work is audited before graduation. Annual surveys track our graduates as to positions and appropriateness of training.
Annotation:
The purpose is to train MCH leaders, provide continuing education, technical assistance, and generate new knowledge in the field.