As technology continues to make the world seem smaller and people more connected
As technology continues to make the world seem smaller and people more connected, the concern for the disadvantaged in developing countries across the world appear closer and more able to be helped. Many interested people have begun to get involved in ways to bring about life-changing vaccinations and clean water to those underserved populations.
One of the best ways to prepare yourself to enter a career to help those people would be to get a graduate degree, called the Master of Public Health with a concentration in Maternal & Child Health. Not only will this professional allow the opportunity to deliver vaccinations and clean water to those locations, but also provides the chance to create programs and policies that lend greater importance on those individuals obtaining the health care that can most positively impact their lives and the health of their families.
MPH Degree Programs in Maternal & Child Health
These universities offer MPH degree programs and the maternal and child health specialiation. Some of them offer online delivery as an option, and some require on-campus classes only.
- University of Minnesota – MPH in Maternal and Child Health – Provides knowledge and skills to apply to improving the health of youth and families. This program is created with the intent of making health care more available to populations that are socially vulnerable. Program values incorporate a desire for social justice and for spreading better health to all people in all places. Includes on-campus or online curriculum, depending on needs of the student.
- University of Liverpool – (Featured & Highly Recommended!) – MPH in Public Health – Want to study at a UK Non-Profit university without leaving your house? The University of Liverpool offers a fully accredited Online Masters in Public Health. Specialization tracks include Epidemiology, International Public Health, Management of Health Systems & Management. Ideal for developed and developing country students.
- University of Colorado Denver – MPH in Maternal and Child Health – Includes study of all aspects of health for women and families. Curriculum incorporates prevention techniques as well as ways of evaluating these programs in a variety of environments. Prepares graduates to work in many jobs as managers of the public health care system.
- University of Nebraska Medical Center – MPH in Maternal and Child Health – Examines the full life cycle of human, the health conditions that affect them, and the ways those health conditions impacts their life at that stage in the life cycle. All aspects of social justice, equity, and human rights are investigated and debated. This particular concentration is not available in an online format at this university, but other options are.
YouTube Special Feature
Mary Sando, MPH ’13, works in maternal and child health in Tanzania and hopes that one day, being pregnant in a developing country is not a risk but a “celebration of good health outcomes for both the woman and her child.”
Curriculum and Courses for a MPH in Maternal & Child Health
The Master of Public Health in Maternal & Child Health will provide course selection in two categories: core and specialization. For the core courses, these will cover the five main areas of public health, as determined by the Association of Schools of Public Health, the leading institution overseeing the educational system for public health professionals. These five areas are:
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Biostatistics
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Environmental Health Services
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Epidemiology
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Health Policy Management
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Social and Behavioral Sciences
When dealing with the courses involved in the maternal & child health specialization, the courses will focus more specifically on that topic more than public health in general. The specific courses will vary from one university to another, but the general ideas will contribute to the same essential material being covered.
The graduate program at University of Colorado Denver can be used as an example of the kinds of courses that a student choosing to focus on maternal & child health would study. These courses include the following options:
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Maternal and Child Health Policy
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Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology
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Methods in Research and Evaluation
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Master-level Capstone Experience
Each university will offer their own options in terms of elective courses that can be chosen, but these are an example of the courses that would be necessary to this specialization.
Sample of Core Competencies
There are core competencies that are expected from graduates of any MPH program. The Association of Schools of Public Health also has determined the core competencies that all graduate should have after successfully completing a Master in Public Health degree. These are:
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Communication and Informatics
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Diversity and Culture
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Leadership
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Professionalism
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Program Planning
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Public Health Biology
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Systems Thinking
These foundational abilities should have been internalized in a way that they can be exercised in a variety of situations and examples.
Maternal & Child Health Scholarships, Fellowships & Training
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Maternal and Child Health Leadership Development Scholarship – These scholarships are given to students enrolled at the University of Maryland and interested in Children Adolescents and Family Health as their career, and be in good academic standing. Winners are eligible for presidential leadership fellowships.
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Emerging MCH Graduate Student Scholarship Presented by Realityworks & Bo Beyond MCH – Provides graduate student with financial support in order to further their education or to attend conferences that will help them to improve their leadership skills.
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Child Family Health International Scholarships – Provides scholarships to applicants interested in participating in a program offered by Child Family Health International, which consists of international programs to bring health-related care to underserved populations.
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Maternal and Child Public Health Leadership Training – This graduate-level program provides opportunities for students interested in the field of maternal and child health. Upon completion, graduates will be prepared to lead process changes, and to implement programs that can bring about positive improvements for the industry as a whole.
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Maternal and Child Health Leadership Training – This University of South Florida program is part of a joint mission with the Health and Human Resources Administration. The goal is to create policies that promote equity and foster an environment of collaboration that is centered around families and their particular cultural situation.
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Diversity Scholars Scholarship – These scholarships are awarded as a part of a much larger Diversity Scholars Program. The purpose is to increase the number of minority health care professionals that have committed to working to improve the equity situation of many populations and their women and children. This is an initiative of the Boston University School of Public Health.
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The University of Texas School of Public Health Maternal and Child Health Training Fellowship – This combination of leadership and information development will prepare fellows for successful careers in the field of maternal and child health. This fellowship includes a heavily experience-related term, with a financial support package that helps cover tuition costs.
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Health Resources and Services Administration Training Grant – For those MPH students interested in leadership positions after graduation in several of their special concentrations. Maternal and child health is one of those areas, currently considered to have a shortage of qualified workers to fill the positions available.
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Women’s Health Research Institute Scholarship – Eligible students will be studying maternal and child health and interested in working in that field after graduation. This scholarship is related to studies completed at the University of British Columbia.
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Jacalyn S. Leavitt Endowed Maternal and Child Health Scholarship in Public Health – Scholarship created in order to support the advancement of the field and to encourage students to undertake studies that foster change and improvement in maternal and child health. Must be a graduate or medical student at the University of Utah’s Department of Family and Preventive Medicine.
Top Maternal & Child Health Journals
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Maternal and Child Health Journal – The peer review format is an important aspect of the materials published in this journal. The collaboration between academicians, researchers and practitioners is encouraged in order to advance the study and the impact of changes to the public health of mothers and their children.
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International Journal of Maternal and Child Health – This open access journal provides articles that are informative for professionals within the field of maternity and child health care. Issues are published that describe the conditions and situation being faced all over the globe, facing different populations is different ways.
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The American Journal of Maternal/Child Nursing – Aims to bring the most recent and relevant information to nurses that are practicing in various areas involving newborns and mothers. Journal includes updates, ideas, insights, discoveries, investigations, assistance that can help nurses provide more beneficial care to their patients.
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Maternal & Child Nutrition – Makes public the newest, most innovative ways that professionals are finding to use nutrition to aid in improving health conditions. The use of nutrition and how it impacts development and growth is studied from before birth all the way to death. The ability to create interventions that assist in health improvement are also examined.
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Journal of Pediatric, Maternal & Family Health – This journal relates to the ways that chiropractic care can be beneficial to many of the conditions that mothers and families may be facing. All articles are intended to demonstrate through articles and experiences the ways that relief can be brought to many without the need for medications.
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International Journal of MCH and AIDS – This global health journal provides opportunities for peer review and makes the material available to interested people, via an open access network. Includes works that cover all relevant topics and the submissions can be of any kind of format that presents a new of evolving idea that can be implemented to benefit public health. In particular, focuses on the social determinants that can impact health and disease, with belief that these can be diminished.
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Maternal Health – Journal that publishes the research being done by various divisions of Rand Corporation. Research is done that examines global issues with women and child health, related to the coordination between access to healthcare and the ability of the newborn children to thrive.
Free Online Courses in Maternal & Child Health
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Health Inequalities – Examines current thoughts on how healthcare has such inequalities of care, and how factors that influence justice, fairness, and equity. Evaluations will be made on current inequalities with the hope of creating meaningful change.
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Adolescent Health and Development – A variety of lecture formats, classroom exercises and projects will bring forward many of the different issues affecting adolescent health and development. Examination will lead to recommendations for possible solutions to the problems.
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Child Health and Development – This covers the period from early to middle childhood and includes explanation of the processes and steps that make up that development time. Time is spent on analyzing many of the programs in place that attempt to help the dilemmas of at-risk populations in particular.
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Ethical Issues in Public Health – The current state of public health and public policy will be described, as well as study of the ways that ethical theories can make more sound decisions with a greater impact on the greater number of people. Course includes a final paper that is used to evaluate how ethical issues exist in their particular field of concentration.
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Family Planning Policies and Programs – Focuses on the family planning programs that have been designed in developing countries. Resources are used to investigate the different signs that a population is in need of family planning programs, as well as different contraceptive methods and how they work with varied populations.
Additional Maternal & Child Health Links
