Online Program

330748
Developing careers in cardiovascular disease epidemiology and prevention: The Jackson Heart Study


Sunday, November 1, 2015

Marinelle Payton, MD, PhD, MPH, MS, School of Public Health, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Brenda W. Campbell Jenkins, MPH, PhD, School of Public Health, Jackson Heart Study Graduate Training and Education Program, JSU, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Gregory Wilson Sr., MA, Jackson Heart Study Graduate Training and Education/Community Outreach Centers, Jackson State University School of Public Health (Initiative), Jackson, MS
Lavon Young, Jackson Heart Study Community Outreach Center, Jackson State University, School of Public Health, Jackson, MS
Regina Fields, Jackson Heart Study Community Outreach Center, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Clifton C. Addison, PhD, Jackson Heart Study/Project Health/School of Public Health, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS
Introduction:  The Jackson Heart Study (JHS) is committed to providing opportunities for expanding the understanding of the extent, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. The JHS Graduate Training and Education Center (GTEC) has initiated the Daniel Hale Williams Scholar program where students are afforded the opportunity to interact with observational epidemiologists and other biomedical scientists to learn how to further define the role of risk factors in predicting, preventing, and treating cardiovascular disease using the Jackson Heart Study data. This study describes the structured programs developed by the JHS that provides additional avenues for us to alleviate the shortage of trained professionals in cardiovascular epidemiology where students can earn graduate certificates while they complete their academic degrees. Methods:  The DHWS program provides: (1) an enrichment curriculum, (2) a learning community, (3) quarterly seminars for students, and (4) a Summer Institute where graduate scholars enrolled in the program are exposed to cardiovascular epidemiology training. Results:  Students attend enrichment activities comprising: (1) Applied Biostatistics, (2) Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology, (3) Social Epidemiology, (4) Emerging Topics, and (5) Research Writing.  Training focuses on developing proficiency in cardiovascular health knowledge. Conclusions:  The need to expand formal training in cardiovascular epidemiology is increasingly apparent with the continued rise in health disparities and the spirally rise in obesity and CVD in Mississippi.The DHW scholar program is a unique strategy for incorporating rigorous academic and career-focused training to graduate students enabling the acquisition of competencies needed to impact cardiovascular disease management programs.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe strategies for providing rigorous training to graduate students in cardiovascular epidemiology

Keyword(s): Epidemiology, Public Health Curricula & Competencies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the Principal Investigator of the Jackson Heart Study Graduate Training and Education Center and I am responsible for overseeing the program and the center's activities. I have over thirty years of experience in directing this type of operation, and I am qualified to present information of the processes that we developed for this purpose.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.