Tulane program successful at maternal and child health training

Raven Cedeno newwave@tulane.edu
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The 2017 cohort of the Maternal and Child Health Scholars Program at the Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. (Photo from SPHTM)

Tulane’s efforts to train future public health leaders on how to provide support for moms, babies and families are successful, according to a recent Tulane University study published in Maternal and Child Health Journal.

The study focused on the Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Scholar Program, led by the Tulane Center of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health (CEMCH) in the School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. Interviews with students and community partners were conducted between 2015 and 2016.

“I believe that our programs are not static, but are dynamic, and we always need to be aware of the value placed on a program by all parties involved, along with the realization that we can always be better,” said Carolyn Johnson, director of CEMCH and chief of the MCH academic section in the School of Public Health.

"We always need to be aware of the value placed on a program by all parties involved, along with the realization that we can always be better.”

Carolyn Johnson, director of CEMCH and chief of the MCH academic section in the School of Public Health

The results of the study showed a high level of satisfaction by all stakeholders involved in the program. In particular, the study found that students valued the relationships the scholar program facilitates, including those with mentors and fellow students.

Each fall the scholar program recruits and trains graduate students studying maternal and child health at the Tulane School of Public Health. Among the activities for each year’s cohort, students fulfill coursework in leadership development and are placed in short-term rotations with professionals working in that field.

Amelia Brandt, a doctoral student in the Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences Department in the School of Public Health, served as the lead author of the study.

Tulane’s program is one of 13 Centers of Excellence in MCH, providing training for the next generation of MCH leaders. Research results will be used to inform other MCH training programs and to strengthen Tulane’s CEMCH Scholar Program.

Read the full study here.