Abstract
Introduction:
The purpose of this Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Epidemiology Doctoral Training Program is to complement the Centers of Excellence in MCH Program by extending its institutional support and providing financial support to doctoral students who intend to utilize an epidemiologic assessment and analysis of maternal and child health (MCH) indicators as the basis for their dissertation research. Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine (SPHTM) will continue to use intensive mentoring and an interdisciplinary collaborative curriculum, drawing on the strengths of several programs, to provide our scholars with the skills necessary to become leaders in the field of MCH Epidemiology and with a social epidemiologic lens. Furthermore, we will partner with the Bureau of Family Health (BFH), the Title V arm of the Louisiana Office of Public Health (LA OPH) to strengthen the epidemiologic capacity and local sustainability for assessment, planning, and delivery of health services to thelocal and statewide MCH population as well as the capacity to examine and address social determinants of MCH and facilitate research to practice.
Methodology:
Goal 1: Educate doctoral candidates who are competent in maternal and child health leadership and trained in the application of epidemiologic methods to conducting action-oriented research in the MCH field.
Goal 2: Foster the enhancement of the functional and research capacity of local and state agencies in MCH epidemiology.
Goal 3: Contribute to the knowledge and empirical evidence base of MCH epidemiology practitioners.