2012 Summer Institute on Adolescent Health: Equal Access, Equal Say: Achieving Health Equity for all Young People

The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, in partnership with the Center for Adolescent Nursing, the Minnesota Department of Education, the Healthy Youth Development-Prevention Research Center, the Minnesota Department of Health, and Teenwise Minnesota, is pleased to announce the 2012 Summer Institute on Adolescent Health.

When: July 30- August 2, 2012

Where: Minnesota Department of Health, Snelling Office Park, Minnesota Department of Health Snelling Office Park, 1645 Energy Park Drive, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108

Cost: $250

Register at: http://www.nursing.umn.edu/Adolescent_Nursing/Continuing_Education/home.html.

Change – the one word that best epitomizes adolescence – changing bodies, changing schools, changing friends. While change is essential for healthy transitions to adulthood, it can also increase vulnerability. For young people today, inequitable social conditions in families, schools, and communities can lead to dramatically differing pathways to adulthood, some healthier than others. Inequities in social determinants of health abound – socio-economic status, housing, physical environment, food security, neighborhood safety, social support, health care services, transportation, and working conditions, to name a few.

What helps all young people achieve their highest level of health? Assuring optimal health for all requires equalizing the conditions for health – life-skills, access to quality services, educational attainment, readiness for gainful employment, and opportunities to contribute to their communities in positive ways. This means that we must pay attention to creating services and programs that are accessible, acceptable, appropriate, and effective.

During the 2012 Summer Institute in Adolescent Health, consider the myriad of social, political, educational, environmental, and economic conditions that underlie disparities in health. Visit settings that are successfully addressing avoidable inequalities that impact adolescents. Talk with young people and their program leaders along with health providers and educators who have walked the talk of health equity in just, creative, and empowering ways. Learn strategies for assuring supportive environments, sustaining authentic relationships, and providing services that are responsive to the uniqueness of each young person. Gain new skills to effectively advocate for health equity among all young people.

Who should attend?

All who work with young people – teachers, coaches, and administrators; nurses, physicians, nutritionists, psychologists, social workers, counselors, and youth workers; religious leaders and policy makers.

Contact hours and two graduate credits are available (graduate students only).

Strong Foundations: Minnesota’s Birth to Three Institute for Healthy Development

The Center for Leadership Education in Maternal and Child Public Health, the Center for Early Education and Development, the Minnesota Department of Health, the Minnesota Department of Human Services and the Minnesota Department of Education are excited to sponsor Strong Foundations: Minnesota’s Birth to Three Institute for Healthy Development.

The purpose of this institute is to strengthen the knowledge, skills, strategies, and alliances of those who work with expectant families, infants, toddlers, parents and communities to build a strong foundation for healthy development.

When: May 30-31, 2012

Where: Earle Brown Heritage Center, 6155 Earle Brown Drive, Minneapolis, MN

Cost: $195; $165/students. Limited scholarships are available.

Register at: http://www.cehd.umn.edu/CEED/conferences/strongfoundations/default.html

Keynote Speakers include:

• Sondra Samuels, Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) President and Chief Executive Officer

Cradle to College is the cornerstone of the work of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ). Focusing on the importance of community leadership and family engagement, as well as starting early (prenatally), Sondra asserts that taking a life course perspective will positively impact the achievement of all children.

• Sasha Silveanu, Washington State Family Policy Council, Policy Analyst and Story Tracker

A Powerful Framework will share examples of how communities in Washington State have applied a science-based framework to fuel practice and policy changes. Sasha and her colleagues’ work include strengthening foundations for positive early childhood development; responding to ACEs with innovation and informed care; making accommodations for people, including parents and their children, with high ACEs; and improving response to ACEs focused on resilience and positive adaptation. She will share examples from–but not limited to–the education, social work, child care, mental health, home-visiting, and public health sectors.

Contact hours and graduate credits are available (graduate students only).

Guest Post: Making Lifelong Connections

Danielle Young tells us about her time at the 2nd annual Making Lifelong Connections meeting. Funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, and sponsored by two MCH training programs across the U.S., Making Lifelong Connections is a one and a half day MCHInterdisciplinary Leadership retreat. 

Sunny Walt Disney World was the perfect setting for the second annual Making Lifelong Connections Meeting. The purpose of this two-day meeting was to build connections between MCHers from across the country. I learned a lot about the many training programs that the Maternal and Child Health Bureau training grants fund. I had no idea the breadth of interdisciplinary programs and the range of students they attract. For example, I met students in social work, physical therapy, nursing, behavioral health, and the list goes on. It was a pleasant surprise to meet four other maternal and child health trainees from the University of Minnesota that I had not met before. Two were former students of the School of Public Health and the remaining two were from different disciplines.

An important theme of the meeting was leadership development. Michael Fraser, the CEO of the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) gave the keynote presentation on being a leader rather than a manager. This presentation got me thinking about ways to mentor and benefit any future team members that I may be in charge in a managerial position. He stressed focusing on the vision of your organization or project and remaining committed to that vision rather than immediate tasks. This was a great takeaway message and guided the remainder of our time in Florida.

The best part of the meeting by far, was seeing fellow classmate, Annie Fedorowicz, present research from her field experience in Mobile, Alabama this past summer. Annie provided a concise, well-thought out, and professional presentation on her research. I greatly enjoyed listening to her presentation and I learned a lot about how pregnancy and contraception are viewed in the neighborhoods where she was working.

It was rewarding to see the successes of colleagues both near and far. A series of MCH trainees presented their work to the meeting attendees. Some projects were nearing their end while some were just beginning. This was an exciting part of the meeting as it was fun to see what other MCH trainees across the country are working on.

The meeting was designed as a way for MCH trainees to network with other trainees from around the country in order to learn from each other and collaborate on projects together in the future. This was especially helpful for me as I recently moved to Chicago, Il and I was happy to meet other MCH trainees and former trainees from the Chicagoland area. This was a pleasant surprise and I’m thankful to be able to start growing my network in Chicago.

Overall, the meeting was a great experience and I’m thankful to have had the opportunity to attend.

Danielle Young is a second year MPH student in the Maternal and Child Health program at the University of Minnesota.

APHA Wrap-Up

With American Public Health Association’s (APHA) annual conference complete, take a look at the general opening session on their YouTube Channel. Below is Jonathan Jarvis from the National Park Service:

Additional videos include Pamela Hyde from the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), former U.S. Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, APHA president Linda Rae Murray, and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Risa Lavizzo-Mourey. Videos of attendees’ experiences are also available.

APHA will also add scientific sessions to their website if you missed any or are would like to view presentations. If you attended the conference and have any thoughts or reflections, send an email to our center!  We would love to hear from you and can post to the blog: mch@umn.edu.

Guest post: reflections on AMCHP from MCH student Annie Fedorowicz

I have been told many times by people working outside the field of public health that my MPH degree in maternal and child health will only be useful as a supplemental degree for my future career. Explaining that I wish to be a public health practitioner is too abstract for people to grasp:

“Public health, so you want to be a doctor or a nurse?”
“No, I do not want to be involved in delivery direct medical services.”
“Oh, so you will be a social worker like your mom, then?”
“Not exactly, I want to work specifically with organizations that create and promote evidence-based health interventions, implemented at a population level to ultimately improve the health of underserved communities.”

And that is about where I lose them. So what exactly sets a public health practitioner apart from other social services and medical professionals? I know there is a lot of interdisciplinary overlap, as well as uniquely different theoretical approaches across disciplines. However, rarely have I heard someone specifically introduced as a MCH public health practitioner. So where do MCH students end up after receiving their MPH degree?

The AMCHP 2011 conference answered this seemingly trivial question. A diverse group of professionals that have dedicated their careers to augmenting the health of women and their families truly exists. Many conference attendees did hold other degrees and were actively practicing in the healthcare and social work fields, but many identified themselves as working specifically within the field of MCH. From policy to research, to community-based non-profits and government health agencies, I was inundated with a vast array of exciting careers within the MCH field.

Health communication with the integration of the Life Course Theory was a primary theme of AMCHP this year. Through a common MCH language, such as Life Course Theory, as well as knowledge of key theoretical public health concepts, this diverse group of professionals was able to effectively communicate key public health concerns for MCH populations. Through simply being exposed to the wealth of MCH expertise, I became more confident in communicating and understanding my future career as an MCH practitioner. While being trained for a professional career establishes an understanding of key infrastructures and theories that inform the public health field, exposure to professionals working in the field translates MCH theory into practice.

Andy Goodman, a Communications Consultant at The Goodman Center, was a presenter that discussed the importance of infusing storytelling to effectively communicate public health programs. While it is important for public health organizations to communicate the mission, goals and objectives of their programs, all too often complex programmatic language does not effectively market programs to stakeholders and target populations. Thus, the power of using narrative to support the mission and goals of an organization will have a lasting impact on stakeholders and decision makers that invest and participate in the program.

Andy Goodman suggested that every public health organization should collect a series of stories that:
1. Examine the nature of the public health challenge that the organization addresses
2. Explains the creation of the organization
3. Highlight emblematic success stories of the organization working with the community
4. Highlight the unique skills and performance qualities of the staff
5. Address organizational pitfalls (for internal use with the staff)
6. Identify the future goals and aspirations of the organization

These collected stories (except for #5) should be made available to the public and key stakeholders as examples that legitimize the need for the organizations within the community, as well as highlight the successes and community support for the program.

This presentation reinforced the importance of translating public health policies, research and best-practice models into a common language that evokes a powerful sense of human empathy. In truth, it is stories from communities that are basis of identifying health concerns that become the focus of public health research and program design. When asked “What is a MCH public health professionals?”, I will remember the diverse group of professionals I met and listened to at AMCHP 2011. And well I may not remember every minute detail of their research or their organization’s programmatic work plan, I will remember their stories. They were stories of MCH professionals’ career paths, of obstacles their organization’s faced in light of funding shortages and health-negating policies, and most importantly, they were stories of the women and families that their programs served everyday.

Annie Fedorowitz is an MPH graduate student in Maternal and Child Health at the University of Minnesota.  She expects to complete her degree in May 2012.