Evaluation of Training Program for the Maternal and Child Health Workforce at Tulane University.

Objectives Despite significant investments in Maternal and Child Health (MCH), the United States still lags behind other countries in key MCH indicators. A well-trained workforce is needed to improve MCH. The Division of MCH Workforce Development of HRSA's Maternal and Child Health Bureau provides funding to schools of Public Health to support Centers of Excellence in MCH, which is focused on preparing the next generation of MCH leaders through specialized training and mentorship. One such center, the Tulane Center of Excellence in MCH (CEMCH), is housed at the Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. This study evaluated the perceived effectiveness and acceptability of the CEMCH leadership training program. Methods A mixed-methods approach was used, consisting of semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys which were analyzed through inductive methods based in grounded theory and non-parametric methods respectively. Results Results indicated an overall high level of program satisfaction by all stakeholders. Mentorship and personal attention emerged as an important benefit for both former and current Scholars. The opportunity to gain real-world understanding of MCH work through program activities was an added benefit, although these activities also presented the most challenges. Community stakeholders generally did not view the program as providing immediate organizational benefit, but recognized the distal benefit of contributing to a well-trained MCH workforce. Conclusions for Practice These results will be used to inform other MCH training programs and strengthen Tulane's CEMCH. A well-trained MCH workforce is essential to improving MCH, and high-quality training its foundation.

Integrating medical examiner and police report data: can this improve our knowledge of the social circumstances surrounding suicide?

BACKGROUND: Recently, suicide in the United States has begun to be viewed as a preventable public health issue. This has led to the creation of a National Violent Death Reporting System that collects and integrates data on the social circumstances surrounding suicides. AIMS: The study examines data on social circumstances surrounding suicides as collected by the medical examiner report (ME) and police report (PR) and subsequently integrated into the state of Maryland's violent death reporting system. METHODS: Reported data on social circumstances surrounding suicides occurring in the years 2003-2006 in Maryland (n = 1,476) were analyzed by examining their prevalence in the ME and PR, strength of association, and integration. RESULTS: With the exception of three circumstances, there was variation among reported circumstances in the ME and PR. Furthermore, there was only a moderately strong relationship between the ME and PR for most circumstances, while a significant increase occurred in the prevalence of these circumstances when ME and PR were integrated. CONCLUSIONS: The integration of ME and PR has the potential to increase our knowledge of the circumstances surrounding suicide and to better inform prevention efforts. However, before this potential can be reached, there are still issues that must be considered.