MCH Student eNewsletter

#UMNMCH student Delaine Anderson (she/her/hers), MPH 2022, wrote this reflection on how her deployment at the Minnesota Department of Health has contributed to her career in MCH. In this piece, she describes her experience with MN PRAMS, an ongoing public health surveillance project, and how her work provided a deeper understanding of the importance of data collection surrounding birth.

Gabby Ruiz (she/her/hers) is the author of the newest blog post featuring Competency 7: Cultural Competency. Gabby is an MPH student at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health studying Maternal and Child Health. Her post is based on her 2021 Title V MCH Internship experience and how she strengthened her MCH skills in Cultural Competency. Gabby shares, “I believe that an important component of cultural competency is the collaboration with team members who bring differing perspectives and experiences to the table, and this partnership was essential in creating our evidence-based and population-informed social media campaign.” Read more about Gabby’s work and experience with her Title V MCH Internship here.

The Center is proud to co-sponsor the following events:

March 21, 2022 | 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM CDT

Please join the Center as we host our third session of the Reproductive Justice Book Club and explore the concept of reproductive justice–from inception to action! In this third discussion session, Dr. Jaime Slaughter-Acey, Dr. Rachel Hardeman, and MCH student Dr. Erin Marten will be your guides as you discuss and cover clinical racism in the reading selection, Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and the Origins of American Gynecology by Deirdre Cooper Owens.

-Register

-Access readings

March 25, 2022 | 11:30 AM - 1:00 AM CDT

Participants will learn how ripple effect mapping, as an evaluation tool, can be used to tell a story behind quantitative data and discover how projects have impacted communities. Guest speaker Dr. Scott Chazdon is an evaluation and research specialist at the University of Minnesota Extension, where he conducts evaluations, assessments, and analyses of community programs. Prior to Extension, Dr. Chazdon spent ten years working with the Minnesota Department of Human Services and has co-authored a number of publications.

-Register

March 29, 2022 | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM CDT

The MCH Student Interest Group (MCHIG) and the Iowa MCH Student Group are hosting a panel featuring Iowa Department of Health's MCH Epidemiologist and CDC Assignee Debra Kane and Minnesota Department of Health's MCH Epidemiologist Mira Grice Sheff. Registration and other details to come but please hold the date on your calendars!

March 3, 2022 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT

This workshop is brought to you by Wayside Recovery Center with support from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) in hosting a free public education Project ECHO series. Doulas Shanika Clarke and Michelle Henderson will discuss their experience as doulas and how this work has intersected with their careers in healthcare and the criminal justice system.

-Register

Thursday, March 3, 2022 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT

On every continent, in every country, women bargain unsuccessfully for basic safety. Everyday women fight to be recognized as fully human. For decades advocates have worked tirelessly to address pervasive violence and rampant impunity—through many declarations and international conventions—with limited impact. None of them fully address male violence directed toward women as a global human rights abuse. None are legally binding.

A binding treaty where nations participate in an international response to gender-based violence and be required to intervene in human rights abuses is the only way to achieve equality under the law. A global treaty that unequivocally states women’s rights are human rights and holds governments accountable is the strongest precondition for progress. Meet the activists who are leading a global coalition to enact an internationally-binding treaty to disrupt the power imbalance between women and men around the world. Be part of the movement to raise awareness and create change locally and globally.

Co-sponsored by the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy, Global Rights for Women, the Human Rights Program, the Women's Center, and the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility, and the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change.

-Register

March 8, 2022 | 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM CDT

The Minnesota Perinatal Quality Collaborative (MNPQC) collaborates with Project ECHO to host free monthly education calls for its Hypertension in Pregnancy and Postpartum Period Initiative. In this session, Dr. Jaime Slaughter-Acey will discuss the BIPOC patient experience and inequity-driven differences in maternal outcomes.

-Register

March 10, 2022 | 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM CDT

Organizations, activists, and practitioners across the globe are bringing hope by addressing the pervasive challenges of disparities in maternal health. Most importantly, women are leveraging their own personal stories to create grassroots programs that transform communities into agents of change. From improving access to safe childbirth to providing dignified care for women with childbirth injuries, community champions are joining forces with global partners to advocate for women, and to restore equity in maternal health.

In this panel discussion, join a group of invited community champions and experts to hear how their organizations are working towards a world where every woman has access to safe maternal care no matter the lottery of her birth. In this webinar, you will learn how to #BreakTheBias around maternal health challenges and see ways to advocate for justice and dignity in maternal healthcare. Hosted by the Center for Global Health and Social Responsibility.

-Register

March 10, 2022 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT

This webinar focuses on the third Child Care Health Consultant (CCHC) competency: Policy Development and Implementation. Explore ways to partner with early care and education staff to review and develop policies that ensure health, safety, and wellness. Discover how CCHCs, directors, and caregivers use their mutual areas of expertise to support procedures required to implement health policies.

-Register

March 23, 2022 | 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM CDT

This workshop is brought to you by Wayside Recovery Center with support from the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) in hosting a free public education Project ECHO series. In this series, Dr. Sharan A. Rahman, MD, MBA, NCMP, will discuss the importance of nutrition, knowing what to eat, and what to avoid during pregnancy.

-Register

March 29, 2022 | 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CDT

Our sister Center of Excellence in MCH at UIC is hosting a virtual Spring Symposium focused on emerging strategies to illuminate and change the deleterious effects of incarceration on maternal, infant, and child health. Dr. Katherine Zinsser will discuss preschool expulsion and the Preschool to Prison pipeline. Zoom registration will be shared soon.

March 30, 2022 | 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM CDT

Head Start programs play a vital role in the lives of children and families and the communities they reside. Using the program intentionally as a health equity intervention contributes to closing racial disparities that are fueled by inequitable access to resources and positive experiences. One of those critical disparities is maternal and infant birth outcomes. American Indian, Alaska Native, and African American people are two to three times more likely to die of pregnancy-related issues than White people. This webinar will introduce participants to maternal health resources developed for Head Start staff. It will also provide staff with potential modes of support for pregnant people and their families. This webinar will be offered with simultaneous interpretation in Spanish.

-Register

Each month, we highlight MCH Leadership competencies for our students to learn more about. Cultural competency is essential in respectfully understanding, communicating, and working with others regardless of differences. Cultural competency is a process that is fluid and ongoing.

-Learn more about MCH competencies

Deadline: March 15, 2022

MNLEND is a Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) funded 10-month interdisciplinary leadership training program in policy advocacy and evidence-based research and practices to develop new leaders to be skilled in systems-thinking, effective in interventions and practices, and able to improve quality of life outcomes for children and youth with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) and related disabilities. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities graduate students, post-doctorates, outside community professionals, family members, self-advocates, and others who can demonstrate leadership potential and direct experience in NDD are highly encouraged to apply.

-Learn more

-Submit

Deadline: March 16, 2022

The Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) requests applications from interested host sites to be a part of the 2022 Graduate Student Epidemiology Program (GSEP) cohort. GSEP is a Maternal and Child Health leadership program and internship opportunity. This opportunity will be a full-time, 40 hour per week remote experience requiring no relocation. While the internship will be remote, student interns will have the opportunity for optional in-person site visits during the first three weeks of their internships, with travel and lodging covered by AMCHP. The application process, orientation, and 10-week summer internship experience are led by AMCHP. Students will receive a $7,000 stipend.

-Learn more

-Submit

Deadline: April 1, 2022

The 2022 CityMatch Leadership and MCH Epidemiology conference organizers welcome and encourage abstract, workshop, symposium, and facilitated discussion submissions on a variety of parent and child health topics, including but not limited to the collateral damage of COVID, data and epidemiology methods, equity, fatherhood, reproductive justice, policy, and so much more! Professionals from local health departments, health systems, academic institutions, and students are all welcome to submit content.

-Learn more

-Submit

Deadline: April 1, 2022

Are you eager to present your most significant findings and see those findings applied to new research in new areas? Are you ready to conduct truly integrative work across sectors of developmental science? We urge you to submit the best ideas and come ready to engage across disciplines and sectors of the developmental sciences.

This conference, hosted by the Society for Research in Child Development, is designed to create intellectually rich contexts to seed new synergistic collaborations across and within the developmental sciences. Structured to promote authentic, cross-cutting discussions, this meeting is designed to cultivate new collaborations across disciplinary focus, across methodological lenses, and levels of analysis. This special topic meeting will take place in St. Louis, MO and all presenters are expected to attend in person.

-Learn more

-Submit

On February 18, 2022, the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health hosted an in-service webinar with Veena Iyer, JD, Executive Director, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota; Sarah Culver, MHA Student, Division of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health; and Mark Wexler, Co-Founder, and CEO of Not For Sale. A recording is now available.

Read this article by Griner et al. about the development of a teaching activity using an MCH lens to increase cultural competency in working with sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations.

U Got This! is a free text-messaging program for parents and caregivers of children birth to 18 years of age. These messages are designed to support you and your family as you are faced with making many different daily parenting decisions. When you sign up, you will get text messages twice per week with tips about health and nutrition, developmental affirmations, parenting and school engagement, mental health and well-being, and financial capability. You can choose to receive messages in English or Spanish.

MCH alumni Asha Hassan '18, a second-year Ph.D. student in the Health Services Research, Policy, and Administration at the University of Minnesota, was featured in CARHE’s recent post. Asha is a part of the Measuring and Operationalizing Racism to Achieve Health Equity (MORHE) Lab, which is housed within the research arm of CARHE.

Did you know that the University of Minnesota has a Gender Identity, Gender Expression, Names, and Pronouns policy statement? This is particularly important given the vulnerability of transgender and gender non-conforming populations to discrimination, harassment, and threats to their safety and well-being. Research shows that individuals from transgender communities face high levels of discrimination that often harm their health and safety, as well as their ability to thrive at work and school. In one of the largest national surveys (N = 27,715) of the experiences of transgender people, 46% of participants reported being verbally harassed in the previous year due to being transgender, one in ten participants reported being physically assaulted in the previous year due to being transgender, and almost half (47%) of participants reported being sexually assaulted at some point during their lifetime. This FAQ provides more information about the application of the policy and available resources at the University of Minnesota.

March 8, 2022

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating women's equality.

March is National Nutrition Month, an annual nutrition education and information campaign sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. It focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This year’s theme for National Nutrition Month is Celebrate a World of Flavors, which supports celebrating foods from different cultures and appreciating diversity!

Sign up for free nutrition checkups with SNAC at Boynton Health to receive practical, accurate information to help you eat healthy—even on a budget!

The aims of the Center include providing continuing professional education in maternal and child health (MCH) and support for students in online and in-person MCH graduate programs at the University of Minnesota. Center and MCH Program faculty are involved in research and training in infant and child health, adolescent health, family health, health disparities, reproductive health, and women's health.

The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under grant number T76MC00005 for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health in the amount of $1,725,000. This information or content and conclusions of our outreach products are those of the authors and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.

You are receiving this message because you are subscribed to the UMN SPH MCH listserv.
Copyright © 2022The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal & Child Public Health - University of Minnesota.
All rights reserved.