Funded Projects

Problem:

This training program responds to a critical and emerging need for university-community collaborations to enhance leadership and improve systems of care that respond to sub-optimal health and growing health disparities among MCH populations, as well as emerging improvement opportunities.

Goals and Objectives:

The UCLA Center for Excellence in Child and Family Health (CECFH) seeks to optimize the health status of women, including women of reproductive age, infants, children, youth and their families by achieving the following goals and key objectives: 1) Provide interdisciplinary graduate training that instills the knowledge, skills, and relationships necessary to plan, evaluate and improve systems of care to mothers, children and families, by matriculating at least 5 health professionals and 20 MCH students annually and creating new courses and concentrations by 2020; 2) Enhance continuing education curriculum for the current MCH workforce by offering an annual conference and creating a technology platform; 3) Strengthen relationships for professional consultation and technical assistance by conducting multiple projects with state, regional and local Title V agencies and public and private MCH programs; 4) Conduct research, policy analysis, and scholarly activity that generates, translates, and integrate new knowledge to inform policy and enhance MCH training with an updated Data Center and data applications; and 5) Promote leadership in systems change and advocacy for MCH populations.

Methodology:

CECFH activities will include: training a minimum of 25 individuals for MCH leadership roles and providing a comprehensive education to 100 MCH public health students over 5 years; providing an interdisciplinary leadership curriculum; supporting program faculty development and expansion; providing continuing education to national, regional, state and local MCH workforce and promoting MCH systems transformation at each of these levels; expanding MCH Data Center and innovative uses of data for systems change; promoting collaborative research and policy analysis on MCH populations; promoting MCH Life Course Health Development research; disseminating curricular and training innovations; and enhancing systems change and MCH advocacy. Primary Healthy People 2020 objectives: 1) MICH-31: Increase the proportion of mothers, children and families who receive care in family-centered, comprehensive, coordinated systems; 2) PHI overarching goal: Ensure health agencies have the infrastructure to provide essential public health services; PHI emerging issue: Address disparities in the public health workforce and system research. 3) PHI-2: (Dev) Increase the proportion of public health personnel who receive continuing education consistent with the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals.

Coordination:

State and local Title V programs to mentor trainees, provide internships, serve in leadership training activities, and collaborate on research, planning, policy analysis, systems improvement; LA Unified School District and other MCH agencies to mentor trainees, provide internships, and collaborate on TA.

Evaluation:

CECFH will use multiple methods, process and outcome indicators to assess achievement of each objective. Evaluation of program outcomes include: curriculum and faculty development, student and alumni development, feedback from participants, course evaluations, assessment of outreach, and responsiveness of the CECFH activities to expressed community needs.