During the past 10 years the San Bernardino County Department of Public Health has increasingly relied on epidemiologic analyses to plan, evaluate and guide programs in Maternal and Child Health. During the same period, the Loma Linda School of Public Health was in the process of developing an MPH track with emphasis in Maternal and Child Health. It was recognized that a separate required course in epidemiology was appropriate for these graduate students as well as others who might have an interest in MCH. The course was developed collaboratively and included examples of work done by MCH students, Preventive Medicine residents, Dr.PH candidates and others.
Carrying out carefully structured analyses of issues of public health concern requires a commitment to quality work. The measure of academic significance of a particular study or evaluation - the ability to publish - is often impossible to gauge until the outcomes are known and the implications explored. So far, our collaborative efforts have been more successfully applied to practice decisions, but there is no difference in the approaches used or the quality of the work needed for producing publishable results. At least in this setting, there can be no distinction made between training students for research and training students for practice.
Learning Objectives: Describe the collaboration between local public health and a school of public health leading to improved teaching research and practice
Keywords: MCH Epidemiology,
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.