Healthy Generations eNewsletter

Child Obesity Prevention Efforts: Solutions from Families and Communities

March is National Nutrition Month, which focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. Did you know that the Center provides TA on many topics, including nutrition? The Bright Spots Mini-Lab Positive Deviance Project is one example of TA aimed at increasing a shared understanding of strategies associated with lower risk of obesity in historically underserved children and communities, while simultaneously sharing asset-based, community-derived, promising strategies with MCH programs, service providers, and community agencies.

–Learn about this approach, project, our partners and more

–RSVP for March Mini-Lab training "Introduction to Online Focus Groups"

–RSVP for April Mini-Lab training “Introduction to 1,000 Days: Advocacy through Storytelling”

This latest blog post is by UMN MCH student Delilah Robb from the UMN Center of Excellence (CoE). Delilah details her development of an American Indian sexual health campaign in this post. The National Blog is co-hosted by the UMN's Center for MCH, and highlights the research and work of trainees from sister training programs affiliated with the HRSA-funded CoEs or Catalyst programs.

-To read the full post

Renee Kraus (‘19), a MCH alumnae, shares her work conducting a literature review of current and proposed NJ state MCH policies, and doula implementation experiences in other states (including MN).

-To read the full Spotlight

Congratulations to Center faculty Dr. Rachel Hardeman, Director of the newly founded Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity! To combat racism and enact lasting change, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota donated $5 million to the UMN School of Public Health (SPH) to establish the Center for Antiracism Research for Health Equity.

-To watch the introductory video

More congratulations are in order for Center faculty, Dr. Rachel Hardeman, who was named on the Who's Making Black History Right Now? Good Morning America Inspiration List.

-To read the full article

Congratulations to Center faculty, MCH faculty, and the MCH alumni named as the Division's 2020 Outstanding Teachers!

-To see the full list

Thursday, March 25, 2021 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM CST

Dr. J. Michael Wilkerson will share some basics about this qualitative research method.This event is co-sponsored by the UMN LET Program in MCH Nutrition.

-To RSVP

Thursday, April 15, 2021 | 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM CST

Carol Dreibelbis will share how a non-profit used qualitative data in programming to improve the health of MCH populations. This event is co-sponsored by the UMN LET Program in MCH Nutrition.

-To RSVP

Friday, April 16, 2021 | 9:00 - 10:30 AM CST

The Health Equity Working Group (HEWG) is pleased to host Dr. Rachel Hardeman, Dr. Michael Osterholm and Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones for the 2021 Health Disparities Roundtable. They will discuss social justice, policy, and ethical considerations in the context of COVID-19.

-To register

This article from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families shares the strengths of low-income Latinx families and what future research and programs can focus on to recognize these strengths. For example, the research findings showed that most low-income Latinx mothers with romantic partners had healthy relationships. Thus, public health programming could build on these strong foundations and help Latinx families navigate potential challenges around child development or poverty.

-To access the full article

Wednesday, March 17, 2021 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM CST

The COVID-19 pandemic has created many hardships to economic security and family life, including disruptions in employment, schooling, and child care. In this session hosted by the Twin Cities Research Group, Ryan Nunn will review the findings and discuss this in the larger context of pandemic impacts. Attendees will be able to ask questions at the end.

-To register and learn more

Thursday, April 8, 2021 | 11:00 AM - 12:30 PM CST

In this presentation, Dr. Tabb Dina will discuss how perinatal mental disorders affect women of various races and present patient-engaged strategies to reduce perinatal mental health disparities. There is a registration fee to attend this workshop.

-To register and learn more

Friday, April 16, 2021 & Saturday, April 17, 2021 | Time TBD

The BMHC will help to: build capacity of Black leaders in maternal health to shape programs, policies, and care and engage in evidence-based advocacy, disseminate best practices to address critical issues in Black maternal health from different sectors including research, care, policy, and culture, and grow a network of stakeholders committed to improving Black maternal health.
-To learn more

Conducting research through an anti-racism lens is a long-term and ongoing process and must be considered as part of a complex system which oppresses people and groups in multifaceted ways (i.e., classism, ethnocentrism, capitalism, casteism, etc.). This guide from University Libraries shares racist research systems and practices, followed by resources for mitigating those problematic systems and practices. The authors of this guide acknowledge that this is not a solution to the issues of racism embedded in research

This Maternal and Child Health Journal commentary, authored by colleagues at other CoEs in MCH, shares eight lessons learned during the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic. It highlights specific gaps within the MCH network and describes action that individuals and organizations can take to address these concerns.

Panelists on this Nonprofit Quarterly webinar discuss what good community-based health research looks like, the leading structural causes of healthcare injustice in the US (and how to address them), the existing protective factors within communities of color that can be reinforced to achieve better health outcomes, and much more.

-For more info and to view the recording

You received this message because you have subscribed to the Healthy Generations listserv. This newsletter is produced monthly by the Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health at the University of Minnesota. Email mch@umn.edu to have your event, resource, or publication included in our eNewsletter.

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