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CBHS 6670.001 Fall 2015 27 May 2015

Fall 2015

UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO ANSCHUTZ MEDICAL CAMPUS

COLORADO SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

COURSE SYLLABUS Course Information: ___________________________________________________________________________

Course Title: CBHS 6670.001: SPECIAL TOPICS – CURRENT REGIONAL ISSUES IN MATERNAL AND CHILD HEALTH

Semester: Fall 2015 - 1 credit hour Schedule: Pre-conference assignments Public Health in the Rockies Conference in Vail, CO Sept. 15-19, 2015 Post-conference assignments Instructor Information: __________________________________________________________________________ Kathy Irene Kennedy, DrPH, MA

Director, Regional Institute for Health and Environmental Leadership Clinical Professor of Community and Behavior Health Director, Certificate in Global Public Health Director, MPH in Maternal and Child Health Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado at Denver Building 500, Room E3328 Anschutz Medical Campus Aurora, Colorado Office hours: by appointment Leadership Institute Office: 303-871-3483 School of Public Health Office: 303-724-7899 [email protected]

CBHS 6670.001 Fall 2015 27 May 2015

Course Description: ______________________________________________________________________________

The Colorado Public Health Association has sponsoring annual public health conferences since 1958. It has become the largest statewide public health conference with over 400 attendees. The 2015 Public Health in the Rockies conference is focused on the goal of improving health for all. Important lessons about current regional public health and maternal and child health (MCH) programs are shared in sessions and posters. This meeting presents a unique opportunity for students to learn about cutting edge MCH practices. In this course, which occurs concurrently with the conference, students will explore background readings, attend conference sessions, and debrief the lessons learned each day in seminars with a professor from the Colorado School of Public Health. Students will write abstracts about the sessions they attended, about someone they met at the conference, and about an organization they learned about at the conference. After the conference, they will reflect on the experience and its implications for their work and summarize those reflections in a final report.

“Health inequities persist due to systematic policies and practices that create barriers and

obstacles to achieving equal health status for populations. These are preventable barriers and obstacles. In order to improve health equity, we must not only increase awareness, we must actively address health inequities in our everyday work.

The 2015 Public Health in the Rockies Conference aims to: - Build new partnerships in the quickly changing climate of public health - Bridge existing partnerships with new collaborations across multiple fields and disciplines - Integrate awareness of health inequities into current public health work - Offer an opportunity for networking and learning to all conference attendees The conference will provide awareness of and concepts for continuing to integrate a health

equity focus within public health in Colorado, and to showcase multidisciplinary efforts within the context of the three core functions of public health: assessment, policy, and assurance.

…Public Health in the Rockies is a shared endeavor of the Colorado Public Health Association, Colorado Society for Public Health Education, and the Public Health Nurses Association of Colorado.” http://www.coloradopublichealth.org/conference

This course seeks to address maternal and child health issues in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and the tribal communities in these states. Persons who work outside this region are welcome to register and participate in the course, but the conference and the course will draw on examples from the region described.

The purpose of this course is to enable students to:

a) Understand cutting edge issues, data and best practices in maternal and child health in Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota and the rural, frontier and tribal communities in these states

b) Engage with other frontline workers, program leaders and students in maternal and child health from this region

c) Appreciate the work of regional organizations and agencies d) Extract the maximum value from a large public health conference.

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The field of maternal and child health focuses on the complex public health problems affecting women, children, adolescents and families. Examples of these programs, and populations served by the maternal and child health workforce include: • Adolescent Health • Autism • Birth Defects and Congenital Conditions • Bullying • Child Abuse & Neglect • Child Health • Children and Youth with Special Health

Care Needs • Cultural Competence and Health

Disparities • Early Childhood Programs and Services • Emergency Medical Services for

Children (EMSC) • Epilepsy • Family Planning • Family and Consumer Involvement • Family to Family Health Information

Centers • Genetic Services • Global Health • Health Care Financing (Medicaid,

CHP+) • Health Equity • Healthy Start • Hemophilia Injury Prevention • HIV Prevention • Home Visiting (Maternal, Infant and

Early Childhood) • American Indian and Alaska Native

Health • Infant Mortality • Injury and Violence Prevention • Immunization Services • Medical Home Services • Medicaid, CHP+ • Mental Health • Neonatal Health • Newborn Screening • Nutrition • Obstetrics & Gynecology • Overweight/Obesity • Oral Health • Pediatrics

• Prenatal Care • Perinatal and Postpartum Health • Physical Activity • Reproductive Health Services • Safety in Child Care & Early Education

Services • Sickle Cell Disease Programs • School Health • Smoking and Tobacco Cessation • STI/STD • Teen Pregnancy Prevention • Title V Maternal and Child State Block

Grant • Traumatic Brain Injury • Vision Screening • Women’s Health • Workforce Development

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Course Materials Information: ________________________________________________________________________ REQUIRED READINGS It is recommended that the required readings be completed prior to the Public Health in the Rockies conference. Once familiar with the concepts in these papers, reports and websites, the student can participate confidently in the conference, and will be prepared to submit his/her session abstracts and create a final report. WOMEN’S HEALTH (1) AMCHP: Women’s Health Equity. Women’s Health Prevention Brief, Issue 2, May 2010 http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/womens-health/resources/Documents/Womens-Health-Equity-May-2010.pdf (2) AMCHP: The Built Environment. Women’s Health Prevention Brief, Issue 3, May 2012 http://www.amchp.org/programsandtopics/womens-health/resources/Documents/Women's%20Health%20Prevention%20Brief_May%202012_HLIB_3.pdf CHILDREN’S HEALTH (3) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: A Portrait of the Nation 2007. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011. http://mchb.hrsa.gov/nsch/07rural No need to read the entire report. Familiarize yourself with its contents and a few facts that interest you. (4) Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. America’s Young Adults: Special Issue, 2014. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. http://www.childstats.gov/pdf/ac2014/YA_14.pdf No need to read the entire report. Familiarize yourself with its contents and a few facts that interest you. TITLE V (5) AMCHP: 75 Years of Title V – Celebrating the Legacy. Shaping the Future. No date (~2012) http://www.amchp.org/AboutTitleV/Documents/Celebrating-the-Legacy.pdf No need to read the entire report. Familiarize yourself with its contents and a few facts that interest you. LIFE COURSE MODEL (6) Contra Costa Health Services – Family, Maternal and Child Health Programs Life Course Initiative: The Life Course Model and Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health, April 2005 http://earlychildhoodcolorado.org/Portals/0/Resources/Maternal%20Health/HEALTH_MaternalandChildHealth_Life_Course_Model.pdf (7) Grason H and Misra D. 2006. Application of a Lifecourse and Multiple Determinants Framework to Improve Maternal Health. Baltimore, MD. Women’s and Children’s Health Policy Center. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. http://www.jhsph.edu/research/centers-and-institutes/womens-and-childrens-health-policy-

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center/publications/Lifecourse_and_Mult_Determinats_Frmwk_brief.pdf NATIVE AMERICAN HEALTH (8) Let’s Move in Indian Country: http://www.letsmove.gov/sites/letsmove.gov/files/LMIC_Toolkit.pdf (9) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The Health and Well-Being of American Indian and Alaska Native Children: Parental Report from the National Survey of Children’s Health, 2007. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2013. http://mchb.hrsa.gov/publications/2007aiannationalsurvey.pdf No need to read the entire report. Familiarize yourself with its contents and a few facts that interest you. (10)Please familiarize yourself with the current MCH data from your state by examining these websites. This will create a valuable framework through which you can view the MCH sessions at the conference. (Suggestion: Print out or otherwise save the “factsheets”, “snapshots”, “state profiles” and the HP2020 MCH variables for your state, and bring them to the conference.) (a) http://www.amchp.org/Policy-Advocacy/MCHAdvocacy/Pages/StateProfiles.aspx (b) https://mchdata.hrsa.gov/tvisreports/Snapshot/SnapShotMenu.aspx (c)http://mchb.hrsa.gov/nsch/2011-12/health (d)http://mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa13 (e)http://www.healthstatus2020.com/owh/factsheets.html (f) http://www.healthstatus2020.com/owh/chartbook/ChartBookData_search.asp (g) http://www.healthstatus2020.com/owh/disparities/ChartBookData_search.asp (h) http://www.healthstatus2020.com/owhexplore/select_variables.aspx?VARIABLE_TYPE=5 RECOMMENDED READINGS LIFE COURSE MODEL Lu M, Halfon N. Racial and ethnic disparities in birth outcomes: a life-course perspective. Maternal and Child Health Journal. 2003; 7(1):13-30. CHILDREN AND YOUTH WITH SPECIAL HEALTH CARE NEEDS U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The National Survey of Children's Health 2007. Rockville, Maryland: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2011. http://www.mchb.hrsa.gov/nsch/07cshcn TITLE V OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT Understanding Title V of the Social Security Act http://www.amchp.org/AboutTitleV/Documents/UnderstandingTitleV.pdf http://www.amchp.org/Policy-Advocacy/MCHAdvocacy/Documents/MCH_Pyramid_Purple.pdf NATIVE AMERICAN HEALTH Indian Health Service - Special Diabetes Program for Indians: 2011 Report to Congress: Making

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Progress Toward a Healthier Future. http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Diabetes/HomeDocs/Programs/SDPI/2011RTC_Layout_10102012_508c.pdf Warne D and Frizzell LB: American Indian Health Policy: Historical Trends and Contemporary Issues. American Journal of Public Health. 2014;104: S263–S267. Jones DS: The persistence of American Indian Health Disparities. American Journal of Public Health. 2006; 96: 2122-2134. Jones-Smith JC, Dow WH and Chichlowska K: Association Between Casino Opening or Expansion and Risk of Childhood Overweight and Obesity. Journal of the American Medical Association. 2014; 311(9):929-936. Kaufman C, Desserich J, Big Crow CK, Holy Rock B, Keane E and Mitchell CM: Culture, context, and sexual risk among Northern Plains American Indian youth. Social Science and Medicine. 2007; 64(10): 2152–2164. Amnesty International: MAZE OF INJUSTICE - The failure to protect Indigenous women from sexual violence in the USA - One Year Update Spring 2008. http://www.amnestyusa.org/pdfs/MazeOfInjustice.pdf Rinki C, Weng S, Irving J. SD Tribal PRAMS Statewide Surveillance Report, June-‐ November 2007 Births. Rapid City, SD: Aberdeen Area Tribal Chairmen’s Health Board, Northern Plains Tribal Epidemiology Center, 2009. http://www.aatchb.org/nptec/docs/SDT%20PRAMS%20Statewide%20Surveillance%20Report.pdf Del Grosso, P., Kleinman, R., Esposito,A.M., Sama Martin, E., & Paulsell, D. (2011). Assessing the Evidence of Effectiveness of Home Visiting Program Models Implemented in Tribal Communities. Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Washington, DC. http://homvee.acf.hhs.gov/TribalReport.pdf Tribal Evaluation Workgroup. “A Roadmap for Collaborative and Effective Evaluation in Tribal Communities.” Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. September 2013. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/tribal_roadmap.pdf OTHER SOURCES USED AND RECOMMENDED Kotch, J (ed): Maternal and Child Health, third edition, Jones and Bartlett, Burlington, MA 2013. Porta M (ed): A Dictionary of Epidemiology, fifth edition Oxford University Press, New York,

NY 2008.

Maternal and Child Health Journal

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Learning Outcomes: ______________________________________________________________________________ Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: • describe challenges to MCH in their state, county or tribal community • access current, major sources of MCH data and information about their community • explain best practices and promising practices in current MCH programs • talk with other MCH professionals about public health topics.

Maternal and Child Health MPH Competencies Addressed in This Course

CN-MCH 1

Describe MCH problems in terms of time, magnitude, scope, location, co-occurrence and co-morbidity.

CN-

MCH 2

Apply knowledge of demographic, health, familial, socio-cultural, environmental, and community factors to the design of MCH programs and services

CN-

MCH 7

Conceptualize and appropriately use data to identify problems and assets, and to plan implement, and evaluate programs.

CN-

MCH 8

Develop mechanisms to monitor and evaluate programs and service networks for their effectiveness and quality, including the use of performance measures.

CN-

MCH 10

Apply theories and mechanisms of MCH policy development and implementation.

CBHS 6670.001 Fall 2015 27 May 2015

Students with Disabilities:

Students requesting accommodations need to contact the Office of Disability Resources & Services (DRS) located in Building 500, Rm. W1103. The physical address is 13001 E. 17th Place, and the phone number is (303) 724-5640. Their staff will assist in determining reasonable accommodations as well as coordinating the approved accommodations. The Honor Code of the University of Colorado Denver:

“Education at the Colorado School of Public Health (CSPH) is conducted under the honor system. Matriculation at the CSPH implies the acceptance of, and adherence to, the CSPH Student Academic Honor and Conduct Code. All students who have entered graduate and health professional programs should have developed the qualities of honesty and integrity, and each student should apply these principles to his or her academic and subsequent professional career. All students are expected also to have achieved a level of maturity reflected by appropriate conduct at all times.” The Student Academic Honor and Conduct Code Colorado School Of Public Health - Effective August 18, 2009 (http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/PublicHealth/Academics/academics/Documents/PoliciesHandbooks/CSPH_Honor_Code.pdf ) to which all students are held accountable, includes guidelines about academic honesty, professional conduct, alcohol and drug use, and respect for the rights and property of others, among other important details. In particular, plagiarism (including the undocumented use of internet and web-based information), cheating, illegitimate possession and/or use of examinations, violation of the ethical standards for conducting research, and falsification of official records are unacceptable and may result in dismissal from the school.

In this course, the honor code translates readily into the expectation that each student performs each assignment independently without assistance from others, including other students. Students are encouraged to study together, but must respond to the items on the exam or take home assignments independently. Students are encouraged to solicit guidance from librarians and experts, but are expected to create papers and presentations independently. If students plan and deliver presentations as a team, then, obviously they need to work collaboratively and not independently on that assignment. Please ask the instructor if there are any questions about the meaning of “independently”.

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Course Requirements: ______________________________________________________________________________ Each student is expected to: 1. complete all required readings 2. attend all conference sessions 3. participate in seminar discussions at the end of each conference day with instructor 4. submit an abstract on five of the sessions attended (see abstract template on page 12 below) 5. meet at least three maternal and child health or public health professionals, and submit an abstract about one of them (see abstract template on page 13 below) 6. learn about at least three organizations/agencies working in maternal and child health or public health, and submit an abstract about one of them (see abstract template on page 14 below) 7. submit a final report on your reflections about the lessons learned at the conference (see page 15 below). Students are also expected to exhibit effective written and verbal communication skills. Students are expected to bring a laptop computer or similar to the conference so that they can write and submit their abstracts to the instructor before departure from the conference. Dress for the conference can be considered “business casual”. Wearing t-shirts with messages would be considered too casual, but it is not necessary for men to wear ties, or for anyone to wear a suit. Dress the part of the public health professional you wish to be in your next job. Pre-Conference

• Read the required readings. • Study the conference program and choose the sessions of special interest to you.

http://www.coloradopublichealth.org/conference/preliminary_agenda.php The Colorado Public Health Association will have a pre-populated, on-line conference planner that can be used for this purpose. Be prepared to discuss your session choices at the first class meeting (on Tuesday evening September 15th in Vail, CO.)

• Contact other students to arrange carpooling, if possible. During the Conference – September 15-18, 2015

• On Tuesday September 15th, students will meet with the instructor and the other students in the evening to ask any questions, review lessons from the advance readings, and make final choices about which sessions to attend the next day.

• On Wednesday through Friday, students will attend all plenary sessions and most of the breakout or poster sessions each day. At the end of each day, students will meet with instructor to debrief major lessons learned that day. Abstracts of five of the sessions attended on September 16-17-18 need to be submitted (see page 12.)

• Students are required to meet and talk with at least 3 people completely unknown to them prior to the conference. For one of these three new contacts, students need to report the contact information and the nature of that person’s work (see page 13.) Poster sessions

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and luncheon plenaries are ideal and easy places to get to know other meeting participants and learn about their work.

• Students are also required to create an abstract describing an organization or entity with which they became familiar at the conference (see page 14.)

Post-Conference

• At the Friday meeting with the instructor, any final clarifications about the course expectations will be made. Students will submit their abstracts to the instructor before departure.

• After the conclusion of the conference, students are required to submit a final reflection of at least 750 words about the conference experience and how they can apply what they learned (see page 15.) The deadline for submitting this final reflection is October 1st.

Instructional Approach: ______________________________________________________________________________ The final grade will be based on100 points total, broken down as follows: 25 points for class participation 35 points for the five session abstracts 10 points for the abstract about a person met at the conference 10 points for the abstract about an organization/agency at the conference 20 points for the final reflection A = 95-100 points A- = 90-94 B+ = 87-89 B = 83-86 B- = 80-82 C+ = 77-79 C = 73-76 C- = 70-72 D+ = 67-69 D = 63-66 D- = 60-62 points F = < 60 points All assignments (five session abstracts, one abstract about a colleague who you met, one abstract about an organization that you encountered, and the final report) should be submitted to the instructor by email at [email protected].

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Class Participation Attendance at the meetings with the instructor at the Public Health in the Rockies conference is required, as well as full participation in the conference sessions. Students are expected to prepare sufficiently in order to participate intelligently. This is best demonstrated through the formulation of appropriate, thoughtful questions and answers that reflect knowledge of the assigned readings. Thus prepared for class, the student can demonstrate the skills of a creative/critical thinker*. Accordingly, a rating scale will be used to assess participation, with 25 being the highest level of performance and 0 being the lowest. The following criteria will be used to evaluate the student's proficiency as a creative/critical thinker on the basis of his/her class participation: Proficiency: provides appropriate discussion, evidence and analysis related to the topics of discussion.

25 Provides specific information and offers conclusions which illustrate comprehension. Presents a clear, accurate and original treatment of evidence pertaining to the topic under discussion; provides data/statistics to support a position.

20 Provides reasonable analysis and logical conclusions. Offers relevant evidence used to support position with no major factual or technical errors; some use of data/statistics.

10 Provides marginal analysis, offers inconsistent conclusions. Evidence is provided, but may not address and support all necessary aspects of the discussion.

5 Fails to provide convincing evidence and analysis or make notable contributions, but attends class regularly. 0 Fails to attend class or other instructional sessions. *For an exploration of critical thinking, see http://www.criticalthinking.org .

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CONFERENCE SESSION ABSTRACT

There are about 20 plenary/keynote and breakout sessions at the Public Health in the Rockies meeting. Students are encouraged to attend as many sessions as possible, and are required to attend at least these numbers of sessions (inclusive of the plenary sessions, all of which are required): five conference sessions on Wednesday, five on Thursday and two on Friday. Of the sessions attended, five different abstracts using the format below need to be submitted on five sessions. At the end of this syllabus, students can see an example of an excellent session abstract.

CONFERENCE SESSION ABSTRACT My name: _________________________________________________________________ Title of session: ____________________________________________________________ Date of Session: ____________________________ Time of session: _________________ Name of presenter(s): ________________________________________________________ Type of session: Plenary/keynote Skill-building Program or research showcase Please address the items below in complete sentences. Why I selected this session: Major points from the session (approximately three): How and when I can use what I learned in this session:

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PERSONAL CONTACT ABSTRACT

A large conference of one’s peers is an important occasion to network. A network of colleagues can help advance one’s work by solving problems, exploring ideas, and enriching and developing one’s career. It is possible to get to know colleagues who are with you in the audience, who are presenting or viewing posters or exhibits, or at conference meals. Students are encouraged to meet at least three new colleagues at the conference, but only one personal contact abstract needs to be submitted. At the end of this syllabus, students can see an example of an excellent personal contact abstract.

PERSONAL CONTACT ABSTRACT

My name: _________________________________________________________________ Name of a new colleague*: ____________________________________________________ Colleague’s email address and phone number: _____________________________________ Please address the items below in complete sentences. Why is this colleague at the conference: Where they work and what they do in public health: Something about their work, about maternal and child health, or about public health that motivates or energizes them: *This must be a person that you met for the first time at this conference who is not a classmate in this course.

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ORGANIZATION/AGENCY ABSTRACT

Presenters and exhibitors work in many organizations and agencies. Please complete the information below about one organization or agency with which you were not familiar prior to the conference. This information can be obtained by talking with participants, presenters or exhibitors, or by investigating the entity on-line after a presentation. Only one organization/agency abstract needs to be submitted. At the end of this syllabus, students can see an example of an excellent organization/agency abstract.

ORGANIZATION/AGENCY ABSTRACT

My name: _________________________________________________________________ Name of organization/agency*: _________________________________________________ Physical address of this organization/agency: _____________________________________ Website of this organization/agency: _____________________________________________ Please address the items below in complete sentences. Mission, purpose or role of this organization/agency: Major activities of this organization/agency (approximately three): What I find most interesting or valuable about the work of this organization/agency, and why: *This must be an organization/agency that you have not known about prior to the conference.

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POST CONFERENCE REFLECTION

Having completed your participation in the conference, what are your thoughts about the experience? In 750-1000 words, please address the following items in complete sentences. Please number your responses 1 through 4 and be sure to answer all parts of all of the items. Please be sure to include your name, and write the word count at the end when you submit the assignment. At the end of this syllabus, students can see an example of an excellent post conference reflection. 1. What are the three most important things that you learned at the conference, and why are these things important to you or to your work? What is something that you learned that surprised you? What is something that you learned that challenged you? 2. What is the most important outcome of this experience for you as a maternal and child health professional? How have you been changed by what you have learned or experienced? 3. Comment on the experience of meeting other public health professionals and organizations at the conference. Was it easy for you, or difficult? 4. What is something that you are going to do right away to apply what you have learned or experienced at the conference?

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EXAMPLE CONFERENCE SESSION ABSTRACT My name: Sally Student Title of session: Colorado’s Marijuana Policy Experiment: Perspectives from Adolescents and Parents. Date of session: 9/17/14 Scheduled time of the session: 10:15am - 10:45am Name of presenter(s): Dr. Emily Love & Amber Murray Type of session: Program or research showcase Why I selected this session:

As part of my practicum last semester I worked with Team Fort Collins, a non-profit organization that provides alcohol and drug prevention services to the Fort Collins community. I was involved in policy work around the potential passage of a Social Host Ordinance, which will go in front of the city council later this year. The ordinance was originally written to target the consumption of alcohol at under age parties but with the passage of Amendment 64 it was decided to also include marijuana in the ordinance. Much of my work involved community conversations and grass roots organizing. During these interactions I heard many arguments for and against the use of marijuana, so I was interested to hear the results from the adult and youth focus groups held by the presenters. Major points from the session (approximately three):

Within the focus groups, youth tended to be more familiar with the different methods of using marijuana compared to adults. With the recent proliferation of vaping pens and e cigarettes, this made me think that more parent education around these different devices should be a priority. It was very interesting to me that one of our own course participants had been told by her children that they were simply inhaling flavored water through a vaping pen. As we discussed it further she was shocked to realize it was probably nicotine they were inhaling.

Both set of focus groups reported that they felt marijuana use among youth was increasing and starting at an earlier age. They felt that recent legislation and rapidly changing community norms were contributing to this. These changing norms, according to both the adult and youth focus groups, were leading youth to perceive that marijuana carried less health risks.

The youth focus groups felt that it was easier to access marijuana than alcohol. They could access marijuana from a variety of sources, friends and peers, from adults purchasing from a dispensary, and from parents or family members.

Both adult and youth focus groups raised the point that the recent legislation and the subsequent changing norms around marijuana use provide an opportunity for conversations with youth on this subject. The adults recognized that these conversations have definitely become more complex due to the new legislation. The youth emphasized that conversations that only

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focus on the negative aspects of marijuana tend to be ineffective and they felt a more balanced or more open minded and less subjective approach could be more effective. How and when I can use what I learned in this session:

I am particularly interested in adolescent development and the challenges youth face in making healthy choices in our society. How can we authentically and effectively support youth to balance their developmental need to explore and take risks against the background of the “Colorado marijuana experiment”? I feel strongly that involving youth in the process is an essential component so the information from the adult focus groups was interesting to me but the conversations reported in the youth groups were equally, if not more important. I will definitely report back to my colleagues at Team Fort Collins on this session in the hope that they may use this qualitative research to inform their work.

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EXAMPLE PERSONAL CONTACT ABSTRACT

My name: Sally Student Name of a new colleague: Meg Dingae Colleague’s email address and phone number: [email protected] 303.345.6789 Why is this colleague at the conference?

I met Meg Dingae at the first networking breakfast of the conference and she very kindly chatted with me about her interesting career in Public Health and what she was excited about for this year’s PHIR conference. As well as being the Manager of Educational Grants and Collaborations at National Jewish Health in Denver, Meg is also a board member and communications director of the CPHA. One of her many activities during the PHIR conference was the live twitter feed #PHIR2014. She was also looking forward to the 5K run! Where they work and what they do in public health:

Meg has a Masters in Health Care Administration with an emphasis in Adult Learning Theory. She is the Manager of Educational Grants and Collaborations at National Jewish Health in Denver and is involved with the ongoing education of the physicians and health care teams there. She has also been involved in educating medical and nursing staff in family practices about the use of spirometry and Asthma Action Plans to manage their patient’s respiratory problems. Meg is also involved with programs such as the tobacco cessation program Quitlogix and the obesity management program Fitlogix. These programs are administered by National Jewish and are used throughout the country. Companies such as Home Depot and health care plans like United Health Care contract with National Jewish to provide these health promotion resources for their employees and members. The Fitlogix participants have access to a phone or online wellness coach for 52 sessions, educational materials, an electronic scale and a Fitbit monitor which tracks daily activity, calories burned, sleep, and weight. The wellness coach works with the clients on the psychological and behavioral issues that are stopping them from making lifestyle changes to improve their health.

Meg holds focus groups with physicians and the patients they serve in predominantly Hispanic communities. The groups examine the barriers to patients’ weight loss. One interesting issue that arose in the groups was the discomfort that physicians had in even raising weight loss with their patients. Interestingly the patients did not report a similar discomfort and said they would welcome the physician raising the subject and offering resources. Something about their work, about maternal and child health, or about public health that motivates or energizes them:

Meg was very energized by the fact that the expertise and innovative programs provided by National Jewish are available not only in this region but throughout the country. Involvement with underserved populations was also very important to Meg. She also commented on what a great team she worked with and how that helped to maintain her motivation for the work she does. It was very interesting to chat with Meg and learn about the innovative public health work being done by her team at National Jewish. She was very generous with her time and information, and after the conference we connected on Linkedin.

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EXAMPLE ORGANIZATION/AGENCY ABSTRACT My name: Sally Student Name of organization/agency: Grand County Rural Health Network Physical address of this organization/agency: 416 Byers Ave, P.O. Box 95, Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451 Website of this organization/agency: http://www.gcruralhealth.com/Home.aspx Mission, purpose or role of this organization/agency:

Grand County Rural Health Network provides specific health care programs (outlined below) for the residents of Grand County. These programs were developed as a response to the gaps in service highlighted by residents and providers, as part of a countywide needs assessment. Grand County is a mountainous and sparsely populated region with only 14,000 residents. Many of these residents are not originally from the area and often do not have family support. Many residents are also seasonal workers, which limits their financial security and access to health insurance and a medical home.

Mission Statement: Grand County Rural Health Network works in partnership to improve the future of our healthcare through programs and services that educate the community on health issues and ensure accessibility and efficiency of the healthcare system

Vision Statement: Uniting healthcare in Grand County through collaborative efforts with providers and communities. Major activities of this organization/agency (approximately three):

Grand County Rural Health Network offers 4 main programs. The Advocacy for Children's Health and Education Services (A.C.H.E.S) and Partners for Adults In Need of Services (P.A.I.N.S) programs provide vouchers that can be used for medical services for uninsured residents in financial need. Their Cancer Services program is open to all residents of Grand County irrespective of financial need. This program helps with transportation to appointments, pharmacy, and as residents have to travel to specialists in Denver, the program helps with hotel stays. The Network also has a Patient Navigator program that is staffed by registered nurses. The nurses work one on one with residents in their own homes to help coordinate their medical services, ensure they have access to all the ancillary services they may need, and to provide health education. What I find most interesting or valuable about the work of this organization/agency, and why:

I think that the patient navigators from the Rural Health Network provide an exceptionally valuable service to the residents of Grand County. They take a truly holistic view of the barriers that residents face in accessing healthcare. Not only do they try to find healthcare providers for their clients, which is in itself a challenge in such a rural area but they also coordinate transportation, equipment, pharmacy services, financial aid etc. for their clients.

CBHS 6670.001 Fall 2015 27 May 2015

EXAMPLE POST CONFERENCE REFLECTION Sally Student 1. What are the three most important things that you learned at the conference, and why

are these things important to you or to your work? What is something that you learned that surprised you? What is something that you learned that challenged you? During this year’s conference the subject of storytelling became the recurrent theme for me.

At various sessions and in our evening classes, again and again I was struck by the power of a well-told story. Edward Winslow away back in 1920 talked about the science and art of public health. Coming from a nursing background the science of public health has always been apparent to me but I have often pondered the art of public health. I now realize that a large part of the art of public health is the ability to take complex, emotional, and often contentious issues and weave them into a story. Both Dr. Jones and Joyce Gaufin did this so expertly. In our own MCH–Link sessions my fellow students also expertly illustrated their work, their challenges, their connections to their land and the individuals and families who are their clients using stories. In particular the story told by one fellow student was one of the highlights of the conference for me. Even though she was very nervous to speak in the group she told the story of what a culture shock it was to be at the conference, how everyone dressed “so fancy”, were so thin and zipped around everywhere so quickly. She talked about how different the food was and how little everyone seemed to eat. She then went on to talk about the sessions she attended and how much she learnt even though she was overwhelmed by it all. Everyone listened to her very intently and I think we learnt as much from her story as we did from some of the formal sessions. The power of the story!!

The title of this year’s conference was Data to Action: Reaching Our Goal of Health Equity for All, why then did storytelling, the very opposite of hard data, become the theme of my conference? And then surprisingly I realized for the first time that in order to take complex data and transform it into action, there very often needs to be the intermediary step of storytelling. I worked last semester on putting together an issue brief on the subject of underage drinking and substance abuse at house parties. The brief included lots of local and national data to illustrate the problem, but for me and I am sure for many who read the brief, the most powerful information came in the form of the quotes that I distilled from the stories I was told. These stories provided by parents, youth, teachers, EMT and law enforcement officers definitely helped bridge the gap between the data and the need to take action.

Another important insight that I gained from attending the conference was not something particularly new to me but the reinforcement of how important it is for public health professionals to come from diverse population. We need public health voices from every race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, SES, geographical region, age etc. if we are to be effective in achieving health equity for all. I know that the CSPH has efforts in place to attract a diverse student body but I was particularly interested to learn about the MCH-Link structure and its aim to reach people truly working “at the coalface”. As we all introduced ourselves that first evening I knew I was going to learn as much from my fellow students as I would at the conference and I did!

I attended a session entitled Intersectionalities: How each of our identities impacts our health. This was an area I had never heard about before and I learned how the overlap of our own

CBHS 6670.001 Fall 2015 27 May 2015

cultural identities can impact our health. One of the group exercises in this session was to list a few of our own identities, some of these were easy for me to define but it actually was a challenge to articulate some of my own other identities which was very interesting. An ongoing challenge for myself is to guard against taking the easy but erroneous route of quickly making assumptions around an individual’s identity and this session was a great reminder of how important it is not to fall into that trap. 2. What is the most important outcome of this experience for you as a maternal and child

health professional? How have you been changed by what you have learned or experienced?

Attending the conference as part of the MCH-Link course made me focus on MCH specific topic areas that I perhaps may not have chosen as a regular conference attendee, so the most important outcome for me was the exposure to new ideas. I have come away from the conference with a list of brand new topics in maternal and child to delve more deeply into. Having a reading list before the conference was very helpful for me, as were the links to various MCH websites. These will be a very useful resource for my future work.

I have come away revitalized by the energy of the speakers and participants. The conference is a wonderful opportunity to learn so much about specific research and programs but the keynote and plenary sessions also offer the opportunity to sit back and think deeply about the broader themes of public health. 3. Comment on the experience of meeting other public health professionals and

organizations at the conference. Was it easy for you, or difficult? I love meeting people and get such energy from making new connections. Hearing other

people’s stories and gaining insight into their day-to-day activities, their challenges and their passions is something I treasure. Even though I enjoy meeting new people and I find it easy to approach and interact with others, in a conference setting it can be very tiring. I come away after each day feeling this odd combination of exhaustion and exhilaration, exacerbated of course this year by the after conference classes. After each conference I always resolve to be more intentional about pacing myself and finding some quiet time in the midst of the conference and then of course I never do – maybe next year! 4. What is something that you are going to do right away to apply what you have learned

or experienced at the conference? I said that I would try and make a list of just five okay six things from the conference that I

would aim to follow up on so that I wouldn’t be overwhelmed, so here goes: 1. Health in all policies on the PHI website and papers 2. The documentary “Escape Fire” 3. More information on the Life Course model 4. Brownson’s Evidence Based Framework for Public Health 5. Carl Larson’s leadership books 6. The book “The New Jim Crow”

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