THE MPH CAPSTONEINFORMATION SESSION

November 5, 2008

Resources

• MPH Student Manual for Full-Time Students 2008-9

•IRB Outline

•Navigating the IRB Process: a Primer

Posted on MPH website

Part I

Nov. 5 MPH Field Experience Applications due today

Key Dates (orange sheet FT/PT)

Feb. 13 Capstone Information Form due

March 30 Final date to submit draft of written capstone project to capstone supervisor

April 29 Final date to submit written project and approval to MPH office

May 9 MPH Capstone SymposiumMay 20 Graduation

What is an MPH Capstone Project?

AN OPPORTUNITY

Apply skills and competencies acquired to a public health problem relevant to

your own professional goals.

How do you Choose a Capstone Project?

•Certain MPH Concentrations have requirements

•Written Requirement: All written capstone projects require approval by a student’s capstone supervisor

•Oral Requirement: Presentation at MPH May Symposium or alternate venue

Program Manual: pages 30-34 and after page 40

Types of Capstone Projects

• Grant proposal or research plan

• Research report

• Public health program plan

• Analysis of a public health problem

Program Manual: page 31

• Using a course project

Program Manual: page 33

Possible Projects Arise During the YearData analysis for a sequencing project of CMV strains detected during a CMV vaccine trial. The vaccine trial involved 464 women, half received CMV vaccine and half received placebo. During follow-up in the study, 62 women were infected with CMV. We have sequenced several CMV genes from these infected women to determine whether healthy adults are infected during acute CMV infection with one CMV strain or multiple strains, whether strains are being replaced during follow-up, and whether vaccine recipients are infected with different strains than placebo recipients.

Ravit Boger, JHSOM

Possible ProjectsFor any of you interested in international health, human rights, the crisis in Burma, and healthcare access, I have a very interesting project for you. Last year I worked at the Mae Tao Clinic, in Mae Sot, Thailand, which serves a large number of Burmese people who come across the border seeking care. While I was there, I conducted a survey study of about 800 in-patients who came from Burma and asked them about the availability of healthcare in their own communities, barriers they had to using those resources, why they decided to make the trip over to Thailand to receive care and what barriers they had accessing it. Finally we asked a series of questions related to human rights abuse in Burma to get a sense of what kind of experience the cross-border patients and their families have been facing. The data for these surveys has been entered, but needs to be analyzed. We are hoping to compile a report. If you are interested and excited about working on with us, we'd be excited to have you on board.

Kerry Shannon, MPH 2007 – current MD/PhD student at JHSOM

Can your Field Experience or Practicum become a Capstone Project?

• Yes, possibly

• Not necessarily

Who can be your Capstone Supervisor?

• Your MPH academic advisor

Or

• Another faculty member who shares your interests

When do you Start your Capstone Project?

• Start early (rather than late!)• Capstone Information must be submitted electronically to MPH office by February 13, 2009• Capstone project may need IRB approval.• Sign up for at least 1 credit of MPH capstone studies, xxx.800, during each of 3th and 4th terms, where xxx is the department code of your capstone supervisor.Program Manual: page 32

MPH Capstone Awards

• Student is nominated by capstone supervisor.

• Nominated capstone projects are assessed by an awards committee.

• Top written projects are honored; top winner wins $500 award (in addition to fame)

• Examples are available for perusal in the MPH office.

Award Winners

May 2008

Health Assessment and Health Care Access among Internally Displaced Persons in

Mississippi Travel Trailer Parks Two Years After the 2005 Gulf Coast Hurricane Season

May 2007

Assessing Women’s Preferences forCervical Cancer Screening

Clinical Outcomes inKidney Transplantation

May 2006

A Social Marketing Strategy for Disaster Preparedness in 5 Counties in Maryland

May 2005

Assessing the Oral Health Needs of Childrenat Johns Hopkins Hospital Using a

Parental Survey

May 2004

Interpregnancy Interval and the Risk of Maternal Night Blindness in Rural Nepal

May 2003

Injuries in Unrestrained Pediatric Patients in the Texas Panhandle

MPH Symposium

• Breakfast for all

• Student presentation sessions grouped by concentration or topic area in different rooms.

• Lasagna lunch on the 9th Floor

• MPH Capstone Awards ceremony

• Fun day!

MPH/MBA Capstone SymposiumTuesday, November 11, 2008

3:30 pm

W2030

Part 2

When is IRB Approval Required?

• Joan Petit, JD, Director of the JHBSPH Institutional Review Board (IRB).

•Resources:– Janet Carn in MPH Office

– Thomas Bradsher in IRB Office