A Warm Welcome from the MCH Program Chair
“As the Chair for Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Program, I am thrilled that you are part of the MCH community and pleased that you are interested in the field of MCH. The Maternal and Child Health Program at the University of Minnesota (UMN) has strong historical underpinnings, a vibrant present-day program, and set of activities focused on women, mothers, children, birthing persons, fathers, and families." - Dr. Zobeida Bonilla
Welcome New Center RAs!
Grace Armon (she/her) is the newest Mini-Lab and Women's Health Report Card Research Assistant, and serves as the MCH Student Group’s outreach coordinator. She is a first-year UMN MCH MPH student and holds a BA in Geography with concentrations in Urban Studies and Community and Global Health from Macalester College. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Grace spent 11 months living in Germany through the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange for Young Professionals program, where she volunteered with a local cancer society and interned with a rural telehealth agency in Jena, Thuringia. Her broad area of interest is place effects on health, especially as it relates to maternal and reproductive health disparities.
Diana Augustin (they/them, she/hers) is the Center's newest Reproductive Justice Research Assistant. Diana is also a first-year MPH student in the UMN MCH Program. Before attending the UMN, Diana worked as a post-baccalaureate research fellow at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) studying the associations between racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities in maternal inflammation and risks of adverse birth outcomes. Diana thoroughly enjoyed the two years spent at the NICHD and was afforded valuable mentorship and training experiences. Diana also has a B.A. in Africana Studies and a minor in Cognitive Science from Carleton College, a beautifully small and quirky school located in Northfield, Minnesota. While at the UMN, Diana hopes to build a stronger skillset in spatial epidemiology and various other methodologies of the population health sciences. Diana's research interests include structural determinants of maternal and child health, early stages of human development, adverse childhood experiences, and geospatial determinants of MCH.
Student Spotlight: How is Kailee Elizabeth Schaberg Working to Address Intersectional Violence Among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations?
#UMNMCH student Kailee Elizabeth Schaberg (she/her, they/them) (MPH 2024) shares a personal reflection on their experience as a Domestic Violence Prevention intern (DVPi) at the Indian Health Board of Minneapolis (Center-funded position). “With the current literature, we know AI/AN women disproportionately experience intersectional forms of violence (specifically domestic violence and intimate partner violence) more than any other identity/racial group…” Learn more about how Kailee’s work at the Indian Health Board informs the community coordinated response to domestic violence among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native folks here.
National MCH Training Blog Post - “What Can We Learn From Family Drug Treatment Courts?”
Madeline Frank (UNC Center of Excellence in MCH Education, Science and Practice) is the newest author for the Health Equity Edition of MCH Leads, the student-led national MCH trainee blog. In her blog post, Madeline applies MCH Competencies 2 (Self-Reflection) and 12 (Policy) to her work on an environmental scan of substance use-related pre and post-arrest diversion programs in North Carolina. “In reflecting upon my work with family drug treatment courts and diversion programs more broadly, I learned that interdisciplinary collaboration and grounding programs within community context and voices are not just best practice for public health work, but crucial to its success.” Continue reading more about Madeline’s health equity efforts here!
WellShare International Bridge to Health Breakfast
September 12, 2023 | 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM CDT | Metropolitan Ballroom
Join WellShare as they envision a world where one’s zip code, skin color, or birthplace do NOT determine access to quality health resources. For over 43 years, WellShare has advanced health equity by implementing community-defined solutions that are effective and affordable. Bridge to Health highlights this critical work and attracts supporters holding leadership roles in the healthcare industry and local grassroots movements alike. This event features UMN School of Public Health Professor and Founding Director of the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity (CARHE), Dr. Rachel Hardeman.
2023 NAMIWalks with the MCH Interest Group (MCHIG)
September 23, 2023 | 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM CDT | Minnehaha Falls Regional Park, Minneapolis and Virtual
The National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI) is the country’s largest grassroots mental health organization, and is committed to enhancing the well-being of individuals and families impacted by mental illness. Through NAMIWalks, NAMI aims to raise awareness about mental healthand foster a sense of community by ensuring that people know they are not alone on their journey. MCHIG invites all MCH students and friends to join them at any time during the NAMIWalks event to raise awareness and support mental health. No donation necessary to join (and you can join virtually)!
Questions? Email Grace at sphmchig@umn.edu.
September 28, 2023 | 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM CDT | Mayo A302
The Health Equity Work Group' (HEWG) Journal Club is an interactive forum for faculty, staff, students, and advanced trainees interested in current health equity research. The group meets regularly to discuss and critically evaluate, appraise, and become familiar with best current practices and applications as they relate to health equity, including best practices in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). The first meeting of the academic year will focus on the 2018 study, Giving Voices to Mothers.
Co-sponsored by MCHIG.
Mini-Lab: Template Analysis as a Method for Rapid Qualitative Inquiry in Public Health Research with Patrick Brady
October 12, 2023 | 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM CDT
The Bright Spots Mini-Lab supports the growing interest in qualitative and mixed methods research among public health practitioners, students, and researchers. "Learning Lab" sessions provide attendees with an opportunity to learn from and consult with experts on activities that build on the qualitative research skills they’ve learned in classrooms or while at work in their agencies.
Template analysis is a structured approach in which researchers identify major domains covered in a data collection and provide summaries of participant responses for each domain. They then place each summary in a matrix to identify recurring themes under each domain. Here is a list of resources on template analysis that would be worthwhile to explore prior to the event.
In this workshop, attendees will build their understanding of:
1. Recognizing when rapid qualitative methods would be most appropriate
2. Describing the steps of template analysis as a rapid qualitative method
3. Proposing how to use template analysis in one’s own research program
