MCH Student eNewsletter

From all of us at the Center, we are sending positive thoughts and encouragement as you round out your Fall 2020 semester. Remember to take care of yourself, check in on your peers and loved ones and make the most of your winter break. We’ll “see” you in January!

This month’s spotlight features our three Center RAs: Emily Reimer, Laura Villarreal and Alyse Haven. Read their spotlight to learn about their time working with the Center and how their roles and lives have adjusted to COVID-19. Thank you RAs for your hard work!

-Read the spotlight

This new blog post features Valerie Raziano, a DrPH candidate at the Dornsife School of Public Health at Drexel University, a sister training program funded through MCHB. Valerie’s blog post focuses on MCH Competency #3: Ethics in regard to vaccinations and prenatal care.

-Read more here

Friday, December 4, 2020 | 7:45 - 9:30 AM CST

Online

This MPHA forum's panelists and participants will address the equal distribution of MN's water resources. Is there equal access to clean water? Where is the greatest impact of water pollution felt? This event is co-sponsored by the Center.

-Register here

Friday, December 4, 2020 | 1:30 - 2:30 PM CST

Online

Dr. Carolyn Porta will introduce students and MCH professionals to Walk-Along, a methodology for qualitative research.

-RSVP here

Wednesday, December 9, 2020 | 7:00 - 8:30 PM CST

Online

MCHIG’s last meeting of the semester will be a social event dedicated to playing games, relaxing and unwinding before finals. We look forward to seeing you there!

-Register here

Tuesday, January 26, 2020 | 2:00 - 4:30 PM CST

Online

The Women’s Health Research Conference features presentations, panels and poster sessions on women’s health research, drawing interdisciplinary researchers, healthcare providers, students and public health professionals for a day of learning and networking. This year’s theme is “Stigma, Racism and Women’s Health” and features Center faculty member Dr. Rachel Hardeman. This virtual event is co-sponsored by the Center. Registration information coming soon.

Some believe the “cradle-to-prison pipeline” for black men is a forgone conclusion; others push back. What’s undeniable is that going to prison has a devastating impact on the health of individuals and their families. This episode explores how to change the incarceration trajectory for Black youth and increase opportunities for health. This episode features Center faculty member Dr. Rebecca Shlafer.

-Listen now

Complex challenges faced by MCH populations and the systems that serve them necessitate critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to identify an issue or problem, frame it as a specific question, consider it from multiple perspectives, evaluate relevant information and develop a reasoned resolution.

-Learn more about Critical Thinking

-Access trainings and other information on this competency

SPH Career Intern Natalie Mallak wants to help us understand what our Myers-Briggs assessments can mean for us. The Myers-Briggs Test is a personality assessment that can be used to help you better understand your personal strengths and weaknesses. Here are 4 steps you can take to help you consider your Myers-Briggs personality type when choosing a career:

1. Study your personality type

2. Research jobs that fit with your personality type

3. Find your career passion(s)

4. Set SMART goals to align with your career type

-Learn more

The SEARCH Institute is a research foundation in Minneapolis, MN. They are currently hiring for two full-time positions: Project Manager (apply by December 6, 2020) and Research Scientist (apply by December 31, 2020). To learn more about the positions and how to apply, please visit the SEARCH career page.

The Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is seeking input for their MCHB Strategic Plan. The strategic plan is intended to provide a roadmap to MCHB’s future, positioning MCHB to respond effectively to future needs of maternal and child health (MCH) populations, accelerate improvement in equitable MCH health and well-being outcomes, incorporate public health advancements, leverage new technologies and translate emerging MCH evidence into practice. They encourage feedback from individual and organizational stakeholders.

This role will provide leadership experience for a student volunteer to promote health education and health promotion in MN. For more information, visit the MPHA website or email Suzanne Driessen at driessen@umn.edu.

Friday, December 4, 2020 | 10:00 - 11:00 AM CST

Online

Center faculty member Dr. Rachel Hardeman and MCH alumna J’Mag Karbeah, PhD Candidate, will discuss the role we all play in transforming this unprecedented time into a movement that shows that Black Lives Matter in reproductive health.

-Register here

Learn about MCHB's initiatives to improve the nutritional well-being of maternal and child populations across the lifespan.

-Find resources

The MDH Child and Teen Checkups team is pleased to announce two new resources for child and teen checkup providers. The Special Populations webpage is a culmination of work with multiple MDH programs including refugee health and the adolescent health programs. The resource Guide to Preventive Care for Justice Involved Youth (JIY) is meant to serve as a guide for a spectrum of community and public programs that provide services to high-risk youth and young adults. This Guide was made possible through the hard work of MCH students Alexandra Gowdy-Jaehing and Mai Vue. Congrats to both on their efforts!

“Everyone should have the opportunity to achieve good health. But, as Dr. Camara Phyllis Jones explains through her cliff analogy, that’s often not the case. We can reduce health disparities and better connect people to high-quality medical care, but to really make a difference, we need to address the social determinants of health and equity that protect some people and push others off the cliff.” Camara Phyllis Jones, MD, MPH, PhD, is a senior fellow at the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the Cardiovascular Research Institute in the Morehouse School of Medicine, and she is a past (2015–16) president of the American Public Health Association (APHA). The Urban Institute collaborated with Jones to illustrate her analogy of the cliff of good health.

–Watch the 5-minute video

The UMN-Twin Cities COVID-19 Winter Resource Guide is an excellent resource for tips on travel, what’s open during campus breaks, gatherings and testing.

The Cultivate Inclusion campaign for digital accessibility strives to increase awareness of digital accessibility and help members of the University community gain skills. This month’s core skill is writing good link text. Research shows that people typically scan pages for links to help them find what they are looking for. Good links provide context to help people make informed decisions about what links to follow.

-Learn more about link text

December is AIDS Awareness Month and December 1 was World AIDS Day. World AIDS Day was first observed in 1988. Each year, organizations and individuals across the world bring attention to the HIV epidemic, endeavor to increase HIV awareness and knowledge, speak out against HIV stigma and call for an increased response to move toward Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America.

December 10 is Human Rights Day. This year’s Human Rights Day theme relates to the COVID-19 pandemic and focuses on ensuring human rights are central to recovery efforts.

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.

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