The Maternal and Child Health Community Leadership Institute (MCHLI) is a leadership development and training program which includes expert led faculty presentations, a Maternal and Child Health scientific session track during APHA Annual Meeting, and distance learning opportunities throughout the program year. The Institute provides public health professionals and MCH community leaders with beneficial tools for capacity building within a group effort and ultimately assists participants in honing and fully developing their leadership skills.
Program Description
Open to all states, the Institute is sponsored through funding from the Colgate-Palmolive Company. The Institute will help build capacity within each state, nationally, to advance the Healthy People 2010 objectives. The American Public Health Association believes that excellence in public health practice and public programming in our states is directly related to the level of leadership provided by state leaders.
The Institute will assist state maternal and child health directors and state APHA affiliates in collaboration with community and civic leaders to achieve the Healthy People 2010 MCH objectives. Although much has been achieved in maternal and child health, a comparison of US health indicators with those of other developed (and some less developed) countries, and the marked racial, ethnic, and class disparities in our society demonstrate how much remains to be done. Advances in biomedical knowledge and technology have been applied quickly to improve maternal and child health care, as evidenced by survival at increasingly low birth weights and early gestational age. However, the diffusion and application of social scientific knowledge is less evident.
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Institute Activities
At its inception the Institute focused primarily on MCH issues within the United States but has since expanded to include a global framework. In 2007, in collaboration with the World Federation of Public Health Associations, APHA invited members of the Ethiopian Public Health Association (EPHA) to attend the Institute.
EPHA participants focused on the major impediments to health system strengthening including limited national health budgets and reduced health workforce. Participants were presented with strategies to improve health systems while working in constrained environments. Sessions encouraged the integration of collaborative work and community engagement in program planning. Methods to increase culturally appropriate interventions were discussed and a review of current MCH literature allowed participants to focus on the gaps in program development and consider methods to address these shortcomings. EPHA members networked with APHA members and one group learned from the other.
What's New
This year the MCHLI welcomed participation from persons from Caribbean countries, representing the CARICOM region. These CARICOM Nationals explored their leadership abilities and styles, discussed social determinants of health, and prioritized the specific MCH issues impacting the Caribbean region. Future Search principles were explored enforcing the importance of collaboration with non-traditional partners and working across sectors. Participants were able to prioritize MCH service issues specific to their country but they also discussed ways to address issues from a regional perspective.
The MCHLI has provided a forum for cross cultural training helping to facilitate partnerships, highlight research, foster communication, increase community support, and promote advocacy. This inclusive approach addresses the needs of economically disadvantaged populations, low-income nations, and other socially underprivileged groups. Ultimately participants acquire new approaches and skills that they implement as they work to improve MCH issues in their home countries.