Building the MCH Public Health Workforce of the Future: A Call to Action from the MCHB Strategic Plan

Developing a Statewide Strategy for Meaningful Youth Engagement: Insights from a Youth-Driven Program in Wisconsin

PURPOSE

There are various ways to integrate the lived experiences and perspectives of youth and young adults into Maternal Child Health (MCH) goals, initiatives, and programs. This article describes the history, evolution, and current strategy of a program that engages youth from across the state of Wisconsin. It serves as an example for others who may be interested in building capacity for youth leadership and engagement.

DESCRIPTION

The Providers and Teens Communicating for Health (PATCH) Program started as a community-based pilot project and evolved into a robust statewide youth engagement infrastructure.

CONCLUSION

Meaningful youth engagement requires capacity, adaptability, and expertise. Thus, in this case, it has proven advantageous to develop complementary and mutually beneficial partnerships to support adolescent health more effectively and efficiently in Wisconsin.

H.O.P.E. grows: An academic-public health partnership to reimagine public health services and increase mental health access among socially vulnerable populations

OBJECTIVE

To illustrate the process of developing and sustaining an academic-public health partnership for behavioral health integration through an expansion of the Aligning Systems for Health (ASfH) framework.

STUDY SETTING

Practice-informed primary data (2017-2023) from the Holistic Opportunity Program for Everyone (HOPE) Initiative based in Charlotte, NC.

STUDY DESIGN

The unit of analysis in this descriptive case study is inter-organizational, specifically focusing on an academic-public health relationship. We illustrate the partnership process across the ASfH four core areas, including key challenges and insights.

DATA COLLECTION

Utilized a Critical Moments Reflection methodology and review of HOPE program data.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

(1) Formal partnership structures and processes are essential to monitoring the four ASfH core components for on-going system alignment. (2) Aligning systems for health principally involves two ecologies: (i) the health program and (ii) the partnership. The vitality and sustainability of both ecologies require continuous attention and resource investment. (3) Relationships rest at the heart of aligning systems. (4) With comparative advantages in research methods, the academic sector is especially poised to collaborate with healthcare systems and human service organizations to study, develop, implement, and scale evidence-based health interventions.

CONCLUSIONS

The academic sector shares overlapping purposes with the public health, healthcare, and social services sectors while providing complementary value. It is a critical sectoral partner in advancing population health and health equity.

Recommendations for Recruitment and Retention of a Diverse Workforce: A Report from the Field

There has been increased interest and attention to the need for equity, diversity, and inclusion, in the field of applied behavior analysis in recent years. Several publications have focused on these topics and educational curricula and professional development opportunities have been developed. One aspect that has received less attention is how companies providing behavior analytic services can help to promote and sustain a diverse workforce. The purpose of this article is to provide examples and recommendations for how these overarching goals can be addressed. The examples and recommendations are described in the context of a small company that has made important strides in addressing this topic through its mission to serve members of marginalized communities.