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EnRICH Webinars

Engaging Research Innovations and Challenges (EnRICH)

The EnRICH webinar series provides a national forum for researchers and practitioners to disseminate innovative solutions to contemporary challenges in applied and translational maternal and child health research and practice. Each event features one or more speakers who are experts in the field. 

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The National Survey of Children's Health: New Data, Opportunities, and Directions

FAQs for National Survey of Children's Health webinar

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Measuring and tracking key indicators of health and well-being among children is critical to ensuring the nation is prepared to meet their health and developmental needs as well as to ensure the long-term health of the country.  The National Survey of Children’s Health is the largest national survey of children in the US, providing point in time as well as trend estimates on a wide range of indicators related to health status and health services needs of US children, and the family and community factors that can impact those needs.  In 2022, the National Survey of Children’s Health finalized content for "Healthy and Ready to Learn" -- the first standardized, multidimensional population level measure of school readiness among children ages 3-5 in the US.  This measure, in concert with additional content newly added or under development and the implementation of state oversamples allows the NSCH to remain on the cutting edge of children’s health surveillance and research.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completing the webinar, participants should be able to:  

  • Describe basic characteristics of the design and content of the National Survey of Children’s Health and how those characteristics impact the ability to address questions of interest related to children’s health and well-being.
  • Report on 1-3 key estimates or findings from the National Survey of Children’s Health specifically related to the new measure for Healthy and Ready to Learn.
  • Describe, in basic terms, 1-2 innovations being implemented or tested for implementation as part of the National Survey of Children’s Health.

PRESENTERS

  • Dr. Reem M. Ghandour
  • Dr. Ashley H. Hirai
  • Dr. Jessica R. Jones

Medicaid coverage of doula services: Understanding the perspectives of stakeholders to expand access and improve implementation

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Across the nation, states are considering, planning for, or implementing Medicaid doula service benefits to better support pregnant and birthing people. However, developing and implementing these benefits requires collaboration from various stakeholders, including doulas, pregnant and birthing people, government officials, payers, clinicians, and hospital administrators. Understanding the perspectives of stakeholders, doulas, and families may help to facilitate implementation efforts.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:  

  • Describe the benefits of doula support as well as funding mechanisms to expand access to doula care, including Medicaid reimbursement
  • Compare case studies on the perspectives of Medicaid payers and providers in two states
  • Apply the perspectives of doulas regarding Medicaid reimbursement to their work

PRESENTERS

Cassondra Marshall, DrPH, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in Residence in the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health program at UC Berkeley School of Public Health. The goal of Dr. Marshall’s research portfolio is to promote reproductive and maternal health equity by developing and implementing patient-centered interventions and care delivery models that meet the needs of and improve the health of underserved populations. 

Julie Mottl-Santiago, DrPH, CNM, is an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and Certified Nurse Midwife practicing at Boston Medical Center, New England’s largest safety net hospital.  Dr. Mottl-Santiago’s research focuses on maternity care innovations to promote equity in health and well-being for families, including Boston Medical Center’s Birth Sisters community doula program. She is currently involved in a state-level grant program for expanding access to community doulas for Black birthing people.

Sayida Peprah-Wilson, PsyD, is both a licensed clinical psychologist and doula with specialty in multicultural psychology, trauma, suicide prevention and maternal mental health. Dr. Sayida is the Founder and Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Diversity Uplifts, Inc., through which she regularly offers cultural competency, mental health and maternal mental health trainings and consultations throughout the U.S. Dr. Sayida’s work in maternal health include serving as a doula trainer/mentor, maternal mental health and cultural competency consultant for perinatal health programs in Southern California (Frontline Doulas & Sankofa Birthworkers Collective).

Ebere Oparaeke, MPH, is an experienced doula and Program Coordinator for the BMC Birth Sisters Program. She is passionate about reproductive and social justice and believes that all people should be informed, supported, and validated in their birth and reproductive journeys.

Partnering with Community Doulas in Research: Agenda Setting and Program Evaluations

FAQs for Partnering with Community Doulas in Research webinar

PROBLEM STATEMENT

In light of inequities in maternal and infant health, it is essential to explore inclusive systems of care such as doula care through pilot programs and Medicaid coverage of doula services. As researchers develop, test, and evaluate the impact of these efforts, it is vital to include the voices of community doulas, doula clients, and communities of color, who are often excluded from decision-making related to how research is conducted.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:  

  • Learn about a stakeholder-engagement process to identifying a research agenda for community doula care;
  • Identify priority areas for future research related to community doula care; and
  • Describe opportunities and challenges to conducting partnered evaluations of community doula programs.

PRESENTER(S)

Cassondra Marshall, DrPH, MPH, is an Assistant Professor in Residence in the Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health program at UC Berkeley School of Public Health.

Anu Manchikanti Gómez, PhD, MSc, is an Associate Professor at the UC Berkeley School of Social Welfare and director of the Sexual Health and Reproductive Equity (SHARE) Program.

Alli Cuentos is a mama, daughter, sister, partner, creative and birth and full-spectrum doula. She is a co-founder of SisterWeb San Francisco Community Doula Network and currently serves as the Director of Evaluations.

The National Survey of Children's Health: Current Opportunities and Future Directions

FAQs for The National Survey of Children's Health webinar

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Measuring and tracking key indicators of health and well-being among children is critical to ensuring the nation is prepared to meet their health and developmental needs, as well as to ensure the long term health of the country. The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) is the largest national survey of children in the US, providing point in time and trend estimates on a wide range of indicators related to health status and health services needs of US children, and the family and community factors that can impact those needs. The NSCH works to optimize its utility to a wide range of data users through multiple innovations, including the implementation of a Longitudinal Cohort to assess longer term impacts of Covid-19, state oversamples, and new content to assess emergent issues in child health.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will be able to:

  • Describe basic characteristics of the design and content of the NSCH and how those characteristics may impact the ability to address questions of interest related to children’s health and well-being;
  • Report on 1-3 key estimates or findings from the NSCH; and
  • Describe, in basic terms, at least 1 innovation being implemented as part of the NCSH

PRESENTERS

  • Reem M. Ghandour, DrPH, MPA, is the Director of the Division of Epidemiology (DoE) within the Maternal and Child Health Bureau’s (MCHB) Office of Epidemiology and Research (OER).
  • Anika Schenck-Fontaine, PhD, is a Social Science Analyst at MCHB’s OER, DoE.
  • Jessica R. Jones, PhD, is the Team Lead and Assistant Survey Director of the NSCH within the MCHB's OER, DoE.
     

The Impact of Community Doulas on Reducing Health Disparities in Maternal and Child Health Populations

FAQs for the The Impact of Community Doulas on Reducing Health Disparities in Maternal and Child Health Populations webinar

PROBLEM STATEMENT

Large and persistent racial inequities in maternal health outcomes require an inclusive system of care to increase access to patient- and community-centered services and to reduce disparities for pregnant, birthing, and postpartum people, especially those at risk for bias and discrimination. One element of such a system is the community doula, a culturally congruent health worker who provides emotional support, peer education, resource navigation, and labor support. Best practices for integrating community doulas into maternal and child health (MCH) services is still evolving and requires resources and ongoing research to help identify/address gaps to improve the health and well-being of the MCH community.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Learn about the role of the community doula and existing models;
  • Understand the current state of research and the impact of community doulas on MCH; and
  • Become familiar with the research agenda on promoting effective integration of community doulas into MCH services in order to reduce inequities.

PRESENTERS

Julie Mottl-Santiago, DrPH, CNM, is an Assistant Professor at the Boston University School of Medicine and Certified Nurse Midwife practicing at Boston Medical Center (BMC), New England’s largest safety net hospital. She is currently the Principal Investigator for two doula related research projects:

  • Best Beginnings for Babies study examining outcomes of the BMC Birth Sisters doula program; and
  • The Massachusetts Health Policy Commission’s Birth Equity and Support through the Inclusion of Doula Expertise (BESIDE) Investment Program.

Ebere Oparaeke, MPH, is an experienced doula and Program Coordinator for the BMC Birth Sisters Program. She is passionate about reproductive and social justice and believes that all people should be informed, supported, and validated in their birth and reproductive journeys.
 

How to Develop a Successful Research Career

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Office of Epidemiology and Research (OER), Division of Research (DoR) aims to support diverse researchers with an interest in advancing the field and improving the health and well-being of MCH populations. DoR offers grant awards annually, however, some researchers face challenges in submitting competitive applications and/or sustaining their research projects after the initial awards, as they may be early in their careers and/or located in low-resourced institutions. This webinar seeks to highlight strategies for successfully carrying out research and disseminating findings, and build a long-lasting research career. One presenter will discuss experiences as a research associate on a MCHB/DoR award then becoming a Principal Investigator. The other presenter will provide guidance on forming collaborations, expanding research with various funding streams, and translating research into practice.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Learn about the journey from a Research Associate to a Principal Investigator;
  • Understand how to collaborate and form relationships;
  • Become familiar with expanding research with various funding streams; and
  • Learn strategies for working with policy-makers and disseminating knowledge for policy impact.

PRESENTERS

Jessica Rast, MPH, is a researcher and epidemiologist in training at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute of Drexel University. She works in the Life Course Outcomes research program area examining questions about the lives, experiences, and services of autistic people. In her role running the National Autism Data Center, she catalogues and analyzes existing national data sources to present a national picture of experiences across life domains and the life span. She is particularly interested in health, health care, and models of health service provision, including examining ways primary care can facilitate mental health care in autistic children and adults. Some of her recent projects include work with the Life Course Outcomes team on the National Autism Indicators Report, examination of the experiences of autistic children and adults during hospitalization, and health and service equity by race and ethnicity. Jessica is also a current MCH Secondary Data Analysis Research (SDAR) awardee.

Paul Shattuck, PH.D, MSW, is a Co-Principal Investigator for MCHB’s Autism Transitions Research Project (ATRP) and a Co-Investigator for MCHB’s Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). After years as a professor of social work and public health in academia, he now works as a Senior Fellow at Mathematica, a policy research company. He was the founding Director of the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute’s Life Course Outcomes Program, and conducts research on the experiences and services which promote positive life outcomes for people on the autism spectrum, their families and communities. Dr. Shattuck founded the National Autism Data Center that curates a growing collection of secondary datasets including autism-related data. He led the development of the award-winning series of National Autism Indicators Reports that use population-level data to describe the unmet needs and outcomes of the autism population. He also founded the Transition Pathways Initiative, a growing collection of community-based systems-change efforts to improve employment opportunities for inner-city youth with autism. In the past year, he’s been pivoting to build a research program on the growing impacts of climate change on health equity – using diverse research methods to create useful insights for policymakers and community-based groups.
 

Grant Writing Basics 2: Aligning with MCHB's Strategic Plan, Preparing a Budget, and Understanding the HRSA grant review process

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Office of Epidemiology and Research (OER), Division of Research (DoR) aims to support diverse researchers with an interest in advancing the field and improving the health and well-being of MCH populations. DoR offers a few awards annually, however, some researchers face challenges in submitting competitive applications, as they may be early in their careers and/or located in low-resourced institutions. This webinar seeks to provide an overview of MCHB's strategic plan and highlight key elements/components of a budget justification narrative and the HRSA grant review process.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Become familiar with MCHB's Strategic Plan and priorities;
  • Identify key components of a budget and budget justification narrative; and
  • Understand the MCHB/OER/DoR grant review process

PRESENTER

Evva Assing-Murray, PhD, is a Project Officer and Senior Health Scientist in MCHB's DoR. Her research focuses on systemic barriers to quality healthcare for underserved and marginalized MCH populations. Dr. Assing-Murray holds a Ph.D. in Sociology, and is an Adjunct Lecturer at Montgomery College. She has extensive Project Officer experience and has monitored federally qualified health centers in HRSA's Bureau of Primary Health Care for seven years, and steered autism and MCH research investments in MCHB's DoR for over three years.
 

Research Grant Writing Basics in MCHB/OER/DOR: Grant Proposal Overview, Exemplary Tips, and Examples

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB), Office of Epidemiology and Research (OER), Division of Research (DoR) aims to support diverse researchers with an interest in advancing the field and improving the health and well-being of MCH populations. DoR offers a few awards annually, however, some researchers face challenges in submitting competitive applications, as they may be early in their careers and/or lack of institutional support. This webinar seeks to provide an overview of DoR's research investments and highlight the key elements/components of submitting competitive applications.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Become familiar with MCHB's Division of Research's programs, award mechanisms and application process; and
  • Identify components of a successful application.

PRESENTER

Evva Assing-Murray, PhD, is a Project Officer and Senior Health Scientist in MCHB's DoR. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology, and is an Adjunct Lecturer at Montgomery College. Her research focuses on systemic barriers to quality healthcare for underserved and marginalized MCH populations. Dr. Assing-Murray has extensive Project Officer experience. She monitored federally qualified health centers in HRSA's Bureau of Primary Health Care for 7 years, and has been steering autism and MCH research investments in MCHB's DoR for over 3 years.

Findings from the RAPID National Pandemic Surveys of Families with Young Children and Childcare Providers

PROBLEM STATEMENT

The COVID-19 pandemic has created numerous challenges for families with young children; however, the unique nature of the pandemic means that there was not a pre-existing scientific knowledge base to understand the specific issues affecting children, parents, and childcare providers during this time, or to inform policy decisions. The Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development (RAPID) surveys were designed to address these issues via ongoing quantitative and qualitative data collection from large national samples.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Learn about the design and main results of the RAPID surveys to date including information about the mental health and well-being of families and providers, how material hardship is affecting households with young children, and how structural inequalities based on race/ethnicity and family structure have widened during the pandemic; and
  • Learn how the pandemic has affected the workforce, healthcare access and childcare use.

PRESENTERS

Philip A. Fisher, PhD, is Philip H. Knight Chair and Professor of Psychology at the University of Oregon and serves as Founding Director of the Center for Translational Neuroscience. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Center on the Developing Child and a member of the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, both based at Harvard University. Dr. Fisher's research on developing and evaluating scalable early childhood interventions in communities and translating scientific knowledge regarding healthy development under conditions of adversity for use in social policy and programs has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1999. He is particularly interested in the effects of early stressful experiences on children's neurobiological and psychological development and in prevention and treatment programs for improving children's functioning in areas such as relationships with caregivers and peers, social-emotional development, and academic achievement. He is currently the lead investigator in the ongoing RAPID-EC (Early Childhood) project, a national survey on the well-being of households with young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Fisher is also interested in the brain's plasticity in the context of therapeutic interventions. He is the developer of a number of widely implemented evidence-based interventions for supporting healthy child development in the context of social and economic adversity, including Treatment Foster Care Oregon for Preschoolers (TFCO-P), Kids in Transition to School (KITS), and Filming Interactions to Nurture Development (FIND). He has published over 200 scientific peer-reviewed articles and is the recipient of the 2012 Society for Prevention Research Translational Science Award and a 2019 Fellow of the American Psychological Society.

Joan Lombardi, PhD, is a Senior Scholar at the Center for Child and Human Development at Georgetown University where she focuses on global early childhood initiatives. She also directs Early Opportunities LLC, a strategic advisement service focused on the development of young children, families and the communities that support them. She currently serves at the Chair of the National Advisory for the RAPID-EC study. Over the past 50 years, Dr. Lombardi has made significant contributions in the area of child and family policy as an innovative leader and policy advisor to national and international organizations and foundations and as a public servant. Dr. Lombardi served as the first Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood during the Obama Administration and the first Director of the Child Care Bureau during the Clinton Administration. She is the author of Time to Care: Redesigning Child Care to Promote Education, Support Families and Build Communities and co-editor of Beacon of Hope: The Promise of Early Head Start for America's Youngest Children. Joan was the founding Chair of the Birth to Five Policy Alliance, now the Alliance for Early Success.

Advancing Adolescent and Young Adult Health in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Responses and Adaptations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Multiple factors support adolescents and young adults (AYAs) as they navigate the transition to adulthood. The COVID-19 pandemic has engendered extended disruptions in these supportive factors – in areas such as education, social networks and health care. Collectively, these disruptions have also contributed to increased emotional health problems among AYAs. The AYA Health Research Network responded with innovative technology-driven projects that expand the reach of multiple sectors that aim to improve AYA health and well-being. These innovations can be adapted to address other challenges facing the MCH population.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Be familiar with the Adolescent and Young Adult Health Research Network and its responses and adaptations to the COVID-19 pandemic in research and the delivery of clinical care; and
  • Identify ways to utilize technology to advance equity and reach in systems and interventions that serve adolescents and young adults and the broader MCH population.

PRESENTERS

Elizabeth Ozer, PhD, is a Professor of Pediatrics and the Director of Research for the Office of Diversity and Outreach at University of California, San Francisco. She serves as Principal Investigator (PI) of the MCHB-funded Adolescent and Young Adult Health Research Network and PI/ Co-PI on numerous federal research grants supporting multidimensional interventions targeting clinicians, adolescents, and health care systems; and more recently, several federal research grants focused on how technology can be incorporated into successful models of preventive care. Dr. Ozer directs the UCSF Faculty Equity Advisor Program, serves as Chair of the UC Systemwide Committee on the Status of Women, was joint-PI on NIH-funded research that focuses on enhancing underrepresented minority students' motivation and persistence in science research careers and currently serves as co-PI on an NIH Science Education Partnership Award (SEPA).

James C. Lester, PhD, is Distinguished University Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Center for Educational Informatics at North Carolina State University. He is a Fellow of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and his research centers on transforming education with artificial intelligence. He serves as PI on federal research grants on AI-enabled learning technologies with the support of the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technologies, and the Army Futures Command. He has also served as PI on projects supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, the Army Research Laboratory, DARPA, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He currently serves as PI on a SEPA investigating game-based learning to promote adolescents' interest in health science careers.

Alison K. Cohen, PhD, MPH, is a social epidemiologist committed to doing community-driven, rigorous, applied epidemiology research to inform policy and program decision-making. Her research explores social and environmental determinants of health inequities, with an eye towards doing community-driven, policy-relevant applied epidemiology research to systematically document health inequities and identify interventions beyond the health sector that could reduce inequities in health and well-being. Dr. Cohen earned her PhD in epidemiology, MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics from UC Berkeley, and BA in education policy and community health from Brown University.

COVID-19 and Children's Well-Being: A Rapid Research Agenda

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understanding the full impact of COVID-19 on children, families, and communities is critical to documenting the scope of the problem, identifying solutions to mitigate harm, and building more resilient response systems. This research agenda seeks to address investigation of the mechanisms and impacts of the shocks posed by COVID-19 to children's healthy development both in the short-term and across the life course, and to devise and ultimately test responsive interventions.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Assess the potential acute and long-term threats to children's health development and well-being from systemic and social disruptions related to COVID-19;
  • Identify priorities for studies that can shift health trajectories and long-term outcomes; and
  • Review recommended research approaches and discuss potential barriers and opportunities for enacting the research agenda.

PRESENTERS

Neal Halfon, MD, Principal Investigator for the Life Course Intervention Research Network (LCI-RN), Professor of Pediatrics, Health Policy and Management, and Public Policy at UCLA and Director of the Center for Healthier Children, Families, and Communities.

Rebecca Dudovitz, MD, MSHS, Associate Professor and Associate Chief for Research in General Pediatrics, Vice-Chair of the Primary Care College in the David Geffen School of Medicine, and Associate Program Director of the National Clinicians Scholars Program. Co-lead, LCI-RN school research node.

Shirley Ann Russ, MD, MPH, MRCP, FRACP, LCI-RN consultant, co-chaired three NICHQ learning collaboratives. Pediatrician trained in the UK and Australia with a special interest in child development.

Succeeding in Research: Developing Your Conceptual Model

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Improvement in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) depends largely on successful clinical and non-clinical research. Success in clinical research conducted by developmental-behavioral pediatricians and other MCH professionals can be enhanced through the application of theory and utilization of conceptual models to guide study design.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Gain expertise in developing conceptual models based on theory, evidence and clinical experience;
  • Utilize conceptual models as a foundation for formulation of testable hypotheses; and
  • Apply conceptual models to study design.  

PRESENTER

Alan Mendelsohn, MD, is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Health at New York University School of Medicine and a member of the Steering Committee for the HRSA/MCHB funded Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network (DBPNet). His research focuses on developing interventions to address poverty-related disparities in early childhood development and school readiness. He has mentored numerous young investigators and regularly presents on the importance of conceptual models in research at the Research Scholars  Symposium at the Society for Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Annual Meeting.

Provider-Driven Innovation: Reducing Disparities

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Children from low-income families experience disparities in health and development. Healthcare providers see the gaps in care and are in an ideal position to innovate, identify a solution, and test new approaches on a small scale prior to more expansive evaluation.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Understand the steps needed to develop service innovations; and
  • Learn about a newly-developed application, Small Moments, Big Impact, that is connected to pediatric care, home visiting, and parent groups to promote mother-child relationships and resiliency.

PRESENTER

Barry Zuckerman, MD, is a Professor and Chair Emeritus of Pediatrics at Boston University School of Medicine. He has over 250 publications on the impact of maternal health (depression and substance use) on infants and children, childhood antecedents of adult disease, and common behavioral and developmental problems. He is credited with 4 editions of the Zuckerman Parker Handbook of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics for Primary Care. He and his colleagues have transformed primary care for low-income families through the development and dissemination of Reach out and Read, Medical Legal Partnership, Health Leads, Healthy Steps, and Street Cred.

Record Linkage and Data Integration for Maternal and Child Health Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Maternal Child Health (MCH) professionals work at the interface of public health, clinical care, entitlement and eligibility programs in health and social services, and education. Rarely does a single database include data on the full range of phenomena of interest for specific research studies. Record linkage can be employed to link records on mothers and children across databases, longitudinally, and across generations. Data integration provides a basis for storage of linkage results for use in future analyses.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Understand how to differentiate between deterministic and probabilistic linkage methods, and select the appropriate methodology;
  • Describe a framework for data integration of population-based perinatal health data; and
  • Identify examples of research questions in MCH requiring record linkage to obtain the necessary data for analysis.

PRESENTER

Russell Kirby, PhD, MS, FACE, is a Distinguished University Professor and Marrell Endowed Chair at the University of South Florida. He is a perinatal/MCH epidemiologist with training in human geography and preventive medicine epidemiology. In his 40-year career, Dr. Kirby has worked on MCH issues in state health agencies and academic medicine focusing on population-based research using most national and state level MCH secondary data sources.

Applications of Network Science to Strengthen Systems of Care for Children and Families

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Navigating complex systems of care is a struggle for children and youth with special health care needs and their families. Current approaches to improve the process overlooks families' personal and community assets. A network science approach can demonstrate how to develop person-centered care navigation, coordination, and referrals for families in healthcare and community-based settings.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Discover how the science of networks provides a unique lens to strengthen systems of care; and
  • Explore applications of network science approaches within healthcare settings as a mechanism to transform practice and health outcomes.

PRESENTERS

Danielle Varda, PhD, is the CEO of Visible Network Labs, an Associate Professor at the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver, and the Director of the Center on Network Science. She has developed tools and methods to measure complex social systems, advanced measures of social connectedness, and discovered applications for using these methods to improve whole person care in clinical and community settings.

Ayelet Talmi, PhD, is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, Director of Integrated Behavioral Health, and Co-Director of the Harris Program. She is engaged in clinical, research, and policy efforts to build sustainable service delivery systems for children and families including behavioral health integration in primary care settings, early childhood, and children with special health care needs.

Conducting Opioid Research on Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Populations

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The opioid epidemic is a growing public health problem in the U.S. About 4% of adolescents 12 years and older reported misusing opioids in 2016-2017 (SAMSHA, 2018). From 1999-2014, rates of opioid use disorder among women at labor quadrupled, which can adversely affect women and children's health (CDC, 2018). More research is needed to inform evidence-based opioid programs and policies.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Identify avenues for conducting opioid research on MCH populations;
  • Learn strengths and limitations of using large administrative databases for opioid research; and
  • Compare and contrast the risks and benefits of medication treatments for opioid use disorder.

PRESENTERS

Hendrée Jones, PhD, is the Executive Director of UNC Horizons, and a Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is an internationally recognized expert in developing and examining behavioral and pharmacologic treatments for pregnant women and their children in risky situations. With continuous NIH funding since 1994, she has published over 195 papers.

Matthew Hall, PhD, is the Principal Biostatistician at Children's Hospital Association (CHA) and the Director of their Children's Hospitals Institute of Pediatric Research. He provides analytic leadership to all divisions of CHA with a focus on health services and policy research. Dr. Hall oversees 15 physician-led research groups using large administrative data for clinical improvement. He has published over 300 papers.

Sources and Utilization of Secondary Data for MCH Research

Ten Commandments of Secondary Data Analysis (PDF - 92 KB)

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Emerging public health challenges require timely, multidimensional and evidence-based responses from Maternal and Child Health (MCH) programs, policy, and practice. Without sufficient data, it is difficult to address key and emerging MCH issues. The HRSA/MCHB R40 MCH Secondary Data Analysis Research program (MCH SDAR) funds studies using existing publicly available, national datasets to examine new research questions and test new hypotheses with the potential for intervention.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Identify data sources for MCH and health services research;
  • Explore the strengths and weaknesses of utilizing secondary datasets in MCH research; and
  • Learn how to access and utilize HRSA’s Uniform Data System (UDS) and other surveillance data for MCH research.

PRESENTERS

Alek Sripipatana, PhD, MPH, is the Director for Data and Evaluation Division at HRSA’s Bureau of Primary Health Care (BPHC) in the Office of Quality Improvement which oversees the UDS and Health Center Patient Survey. He is a former W. K. Kellogg Fellow in Health Policy Research. His division oversees BPHC’s primary data collection strategies, research and evaluative studies, and data dissemination on all HRSA-supported health centers.

Russell Kirby, PhD, MS, FACE, is a Distinguished University Professor and Marrell Endowed Chair at the University of South Florida. He is a perinatal/MCH epidemiologist with training in human geography and preventive medicine epidemiology. In his 40 year career, Dr. Kirby has worked on MCH issues in state health agencies and academic medicine focusing on population-based research using most national and state level MCH secondary data sources.

Potential Avenues and Opportunities for U.S. Maternal Morbidity and Mortality Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The U.S. pregnancy-related mortality ratio is one of the highest among developed countries (18 deaths per every 100,000 births). Clinical care improvements can help reduce maternal mortality, but effective public health interventions are needed in both the pregnancy and postpartum periods. Innovative, applied public health research may provide new intervention opportunities.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Identify data sources for maternal morbidity and mortality research, and;
  • Describe potential research avenues for reducing U.S. maternal morbidity and mortality.

PRESENTERS

Eugene Declercq, PhD is a former HRSA R40 Maternal and Child Health Secondary Data Analysis Research (MCH SDAR) grantee and currently a professor and Assistant Dean at the Boston University School of Public Health. His work focuses on maternity care and birth outcomes.

Louise E. Wilkins-Haug, MD, PhD is the Division Director of Maternal Fetal Medicine and Reproductive Genetics at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a Professor at Harvard Medical School. Her work focuses on prenatal testing and high risk pregnancies.

Measuring Family Engagement in MCH Research: Opportunities and Challenges

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The MCH community has a long-standing tradition of integrating family engagement into programs, research, and practice. Yet, tested and validated measures to improve and sustain the quality of family engagement in health services and research are lacking.

At the end of this webinar, attendees will:

  • Understand currently available measures of family engagement;
  • Identify gaps in developing and utilizing these measures; and
  • Learn innovative strategies for engaging families in research.

PRESENTERS

Christina Bethell, PhD, MBA, MPH is a Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and founding director of the Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. She is the Principal Investigator of HRSA/MCHB's Maternal and Child Health Measurement Research Network.

Clarissa Hoover, MPH, is a Project Director at Family Voices and started advocating for patients, families, and quality healthcare shortly after her daughter's diagnosis with cystic fibrosis in 2005. She has served as a family faculty for residents and nursing students and later joined or co-founded three Advisory Councils supporting family-centered care at the University of New Mexico Hospital and Health Sciences Center.

Precision Home Visiting Research and Practice: Moving from an Innovative Idea to Reality

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Home visiting programs have consistently shown positive effects, yet little is known about differential effects for subpopulations or how best to personalize services. The HRSA-MCHB Home Visiting Applied Research collaborative (HARC) will develop methods for precision home visiting to promote innovative research.

At the end of this webinar attendees will:

  • Understand the concept of precision home visiting (PHV);
  • Differentiate PHV from current research and practice; and
  • Identify how HARC's new Research & Development Platform will promote PHV

PRESENTERS

This webinar will feature presenters from the HRSA-MCHB funded Home Visiting Research and Development (HV R&D) Platform. This platform is a transdisciplinary network for scientific collaboration and infrastructure building for innovative home visiting research. HV R&D plans, develops, and sustains a R&D network of early childhood researchers and practitioners to frame, implement, and report on innovative, transdisciplinary research related to precision interventions to improve meaningful outcomes for at-risk families and communities.

  • Lauren H. Supplee, Ph.D., is the deputy chief operating officer for Child Trends and senior program area director for early childhood research. She has devoted her professional career to research and evaluation with the goal of applying this to policy and practice. She is committed to conducting research and evaluation that can contribute to program improvement and improved outcomes for children and families. Her research has focused on evidence-based policy, social-emotional development in early childhood, parenting, prevention and intervention programs for children at-risk, and implementation research. Prior to joining Child Trends, Lauren worked for the federal Administration for Children and Families in the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation for ten years, with the last four of those as the director of the Division of Family Strengthening.
  • Sarah Crowne, Ph.D., is an Assistant Scientist in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a HARC Leadership Team member with more than 15 years of experience in this area. She is also a HARC study team member, report author for the Mother and Infant Home Visiting Program Evaluation (MIHOPE) and MIHOPE-Strong Start studies, and Co-Investigator for New Jersey’s statewide home visiting evaluation.

Developing a Fellowship Research Project in Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics and Related Fields

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Innovative research is critical to improving the health and wellbeing of maternal and child health populations. Understanding the key components of a strong research proposal is essential to developing research that informs practice.

At the end of this webinar attendees will:

  • Know components of a good research question;
  • Identify feasible research designs and methodologies; and
  • Describe initial steps in planning a research project.

PRESENTERS

This webinar will feature presenters from the MCHB-funded Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network (DBPNet); cooperative agreement number UA3MC20218. DBPNet researchers conduct national, collaborative, interdisciplinary research in developmental behavioral pediatrics at 14 sites across the United States. DBPNet aims to advance clinical practice, support research training, and optimize the health and functional status of children with developmental and behavioral concerns and disorders, including children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental disabilities.

  • Noelle Huntington. Ph.D. is the Director of Research Education and Evaluation for the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children's Hospital. She directs the research training program for fellows in Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and provides research mentorship for fellows in General Pediatrics and in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. Dr. Huntington's research focuses on health disparities, quality of life and the development of measures to assess these health dimensions, particularly for children with developmental disabilities.
  • Nathan Blum, M.D. is the Principal Investigator and Director of the Network Coordinating Center for the Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Research Network and Chief of the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Blum's research focuses on the assessment and management of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorderand of behavior problems in children with developmental disabilities.

The Early Limited Formula Study : Improving the Transition from Hospital to Home for Newborns with Pronounced Weight Loss

While about 80% of U.S. women initiate breastfeeding, only about 40% breastfeed exclusively at 3 months, and 19% do so at 6 months. Newborns with pronounced early weight loss are at increased risk of ending exclusive breastfeeding and hospital readmission.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar attendees will:

  • Describe normal weight patterns for healthy exclusively breastfed newborns after birth;
  • Identify potential strategies for mitigating risk from early weight loss; and
  • Understand the effect of early limited formula on breastfeeding rates, neonatal readmission, and intestinal microbiota.

PRESENTERS

  • Valerie Flaherman, MD, MPH, is a HRSA R40 Maternal and Child Health Field-Initiated Innovative Research Studies (MCH FIRST) Program Grantee and an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California San Francisco. Board certified in pediatrics, preventive medicine, and as an Internationally Board Certified Lactation Consultant, Dr. Flaherman is a clinical investigator focused on identifying optimal strategies for preventive care of newborns during the birth hospitalization. She has conducted several randomized trials examining potential approaches to optimizing breastfeeding for healthy newborns.

Increasing Obstetrics and Pediatric Vaccination Rates through Innovative Digital Technologies

Although experts recommend that all pregnant women and women planning to be pregnant and all children 6 months or older receive the influenza vaccine annually during the flu season, only 50 percent of pregnant women and 59 percent of children do so, making low influenza vaccine uptake a major public health problem.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar attendees will:

  • Understand the key barriers to influenza vaccination uptake;
  • Learn how an innovative MCHB-funded study increased vaccination rates among urban pregnant women and children using a novel text messaging system; and
  • Understand lessons learned about implementing text message vaccination reminders.

PRESENTERS

  • Melissa Stockwell, MD, MPH, is a former HRSA R40 Maternal and Child Health Field-Initiated Innovative Research Studies (MCH FIRST) Grantee and is currently the Assistant Director of the HRSA funded Pediatric Research in Office Settings (PROS) Network. She is also the Florence Irving Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Population Family Health in the Department of Pediatrics at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. Her research focuses on theory-based translational interventions to promote vaccination among underserved children and adolescents, with an emphasis on health technology and health literacy.

Secondary Data Analysis in Autism Research: Using the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) Data

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this webinar attendees will:

  • Learn about HRSA-MCHB's forthcoming Autism Secondary Data Analysis Research Studies funding opportunity;
  • Become familiar with IAN as a platform for autism research;
  • Discover other data sources for person-centered autism research such as Autism Treatment Network/Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (ATN/AIR-P), The National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet), and Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK); and
  • Discuss future efforts to link IAN and other networks to advance the health and well-being of children with autism.

PRESENTERS

  • Paul Lipkin, MD, is the Director of Medical Informatics and the Interactive Autism Network (IAN) at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI), Baltimore, MD and is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Dr. Lipkin's clinical and research careers have focused on the early identification, evaluation, and treatment of children and adolescents with developmental disabilities, including autism, learning, and attention disorders.
  • J. Kiely Law, MD, MPH, is a Research Associate in the Department of Pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD. Dr. Law is the mom and caregiver of a young adult with ASD. She recognizes the unique value of information collected directly from those living with the struggles and triumphs of autism every day.

Latent Growth Curve Analysis in Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Understand the conceptual rationale for latent growth curve (LTC) analysis in maternal and child health research;
  • Learn how to use the LTC within an overarching structural equation modeling framework;
  • Understand how to examine latent growth curves in relation to predictors and outcomes in their research; and • Participate in a practical application of the method in MPlus using LTC of infant weight gain.

PRESENTER

  • Janne Boone-Heinonen Ph.D., M.P.H., F.T.O.S. is an Assistant Professor in the Oregon Health & Science University – Portland State University (OHSU-PSU) School of Public Health. She is an obesity epidemiologist with current research focusing on how social and behavioral factors in childhood interact with biologic susceptibility to obesity that arises during fetal development.

Secondary Data Sources and Data Linkages in Maternal and Child Health Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Become familiar with major national and local administrative and clinical databases in MCH research;
  • Identify relative advantages and disadvantages of using secondary data sources; and
  • Understand how data linkage is a powerful research tool with potential limitations.

PRESENTER

  • Jihong Liu, Sc.D. is an Associate Professor of Epidemiology at Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Liu has published widely on obesity, physical activity, lifestyle interventions, health disparities, and intergenerational linkages in health among women, infants, children, and adolescents. Dr. Liu's work has been funded by the National Institute of Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration.

Secondary Use of Electronic Health Data for Child Health Research: Opportunities and Challenges

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Understand the types of data readily available in electronic health records (EHRs) that support child health research activities
  2. Recognize the challenges with cleaning and organizing electronic health data before statistical analyses can be performed
  3. Gain a practical understanding of how researchers working with the American Academy of Pediatrics are using data from an EHR "supernetwork" to conduct cutting-edge research

PRESENTERS

  • Robert Grundmeier, MD
    Dr. Grundmeier (Bob) is a practicing Primary Care Pediatrician at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the University Of Pennsylvania School Of Medicine. He currently serves as the Section Chief of Informatics in the Division of General Pediatrics, and is the Director of the Clinical Reporting Unit in CHOP’s Department of Biomedical and Health Informatics (DBHI). Bob is a founding member of the Pediatric Research Consortium (PeRC), which facilitates EHR-mediated research within CHOP's dozens of primary care practices across the region.

Introduction to Instrumental Variables Based Methods for Causal Inference in Health Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  1. Understand the situations in which instrumental variables can be useful in health research
  2. Describe the assumptions and interpretations for instrumental variables based effect estimates
  3. Learn examples of instrumental variables used in health research, including policy differences, genetic variants, and other examples
  4. Learn basic concepts for implementing instrumental variables analyses and understand whether the methods are feasible in your research setting

PRESENTERS

  • Maria Glymour, Ph.D.
    Dr. Maria Glymour is an Associate Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, where she directs the UCSF PhD program in Epidemiology and Translational Science. Dr. Glymour's research interest is how social factors experienced across the lifecourse, such as educational attainment and work environment, influence health and health inequalities in adulthood and old age. Her research draws on instrumental variables methods and other analytic approaches to distinguish causal effects from non-causal correlations, especially in studies of social determinants of health. Such distinctions are critical to translate observational research into effective population health interventions. She has used genetic instrumental variables (in Mendelian Randomization studies) as well as policy discontinuities to evaluate long term health effects of modifiable social or behavioral risk factors.

System Dynamics Methods for Mental Health Research: An Introduction

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Gain knowledge of distinct features of system dynamics methods including qualitative modeling, simulation modeling, and estimation techniques.
  • Discover how system dynamics can benefit the study of depression.

PRESENTERS

  • Hazhir Rahmandad, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor of System Dynamics at the MIT Sloan School of Management. Hazhir's research applies dynamic modeling to complex organizational problems, as well as public health topics spanning epidemics, obesity, and depression. His methodological work expands the parameter estimation and meta-analysis tools for dynamic models.
  • Andrea K. Wittenborn, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on the etiology and treatment of major depressive disorder. Andrea's research is currently supported by NIH.

Marginal Structural Models and Methodological Clarity

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Learn how marginal structural models can be used as a tool for epidemiologic investigation
  • Identify the key concepts in causal inference, including confounding in longitudinal data
  • Discover how the use of marginal structural models can help us focus our research questions and epidemiologic investigations
  • Discuss the estimation of parameters of marginal structural models using inverse probability weights

PRESENTER

  • Daniel Westreich, PhD is an assistant professor of Epidemiology at the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill. He has published widely on women's health, HIV, and epidemiologic methods for causal inference and implementation science. He is currently supported by an NIH DP2 New Innovator award.

Qualitative Methods for Public Health: An Overview and Introduction

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Critically assess the strengths and weakness of qualitative research papers and evaluation projects
  • Contribute to the development of a qualitative research or evaluation project

PRESENTERS

  • Hannah Cooper, ScD. Associate Professor. Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education. Emory University.

Estimating Absolute Differences and Relative Rate Ratios from Regression Models Webinar

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Recognize the advantages of absolute contrasts for making causal inferences and for quantifying public health impact.
  • Understand the disadvantages of odds ratios and how to avoid them.
  • Gain knowledge of the different approaches to obtaining absolute and relative contrasts from regression models in Stata and SAS software packages.

PRESENTERS

  • Jay S. Kaufman, Ph.D Canada Research Chair in Health Disparities Department of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Occupational Health McGill University
  • Ashley Hirai, PhD Health Scientist HRSA, Maternal and Child Health Bureau Office of Epidemiology & Research

Using Electronic Health Records for Health Services Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Understand the progress and evolution of pediatric Electronic Health Records (EHR) through nationwide CER2 Electronic Reporting) project;
  • Describe how to utilize the different types of EHR data available in CER2 health services research; and
  • Learn how non-CER2 services research. researchers can potentially utilize CER2 data for pediatric health

PRESENTERS

  • Wilson Pace, MD, FAAFP, Director, Distributed Ambulatory Research in Therapeutics Network (DARTNet), Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschultz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO.
  • Richard "Mort" Wasserman, MD, Director, American Academy of Pediatrics' Pediatric Research in Office Settings, & Professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, The University of Vermont, VT.
  • Alex Fiks, MD, MSCE, Associate Director, American Academy of Pediatrics Pediatric Research in Office Settings, & Associate Medical Director, Pediatric Research Consortium, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA.

Measurement Research Network (MRN)

The Maternal and Child Health Measurement Research Network provides leadership in the development and validation of MCH health measures to better address the needs of researchers and programs serving MCH populations. This Network identifies gaps and priority areas and will create a dynamic electronic compendium of health measures to advance MCH research.

PRESENTERS

  • Neal Halfon & Christina Bethell MCH-MRN Co-PIs

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Discuss the evolution of health systems and the emergent conceptualizations of health and well-being;
  • Explore the various purposes and applications of a framework as determined by the needs of the MCH field;
  • Understand the process by which the MCH Measurement Conceptual Framework was developed and is continuing to be adapted; and
  • Examine ways in which this conceptual framework can be used to guide research, evaluation, action and innovation to inform the next generation of MCH measurement systems. Archive coming soon

Meta-Analysis and Systematic Reviews

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Discuss how systematic reviews and meta-analysis can help meet the aims of researchers and decision-makers;
  • Understand the current methods used in systematic reviews and meta-analysis; and
  • Examine methodological questions under discussion by the research community.

PRESENTERS

Kay Dickersin, MA, PhD 
Professor
Director, Center for Clinical Trials Director, US Cochrane Center
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Dickersin's major research interests are related to randomized clinical trials, trials registers, systematic reviews and meta analysis, reporting biases, peer review, evidence-based health care, and comparative effectiveness research. She has conducted studies in a number of important subject areas, including women's health, eyes and vision, and surgery.

Tianjing Li, MD, PhD 
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Li's core research competencies comprise the methodology and reporting of systematic reviews, meta-analysis, randomized controlled trials, reporting biases, and missing data. Dr. Li has published on effectiveness of interventions for eye diseases, methodology for setting priorities for comparative effectiveness research, and on using network meta-analysis methods for comparing multiple interventions.

More than pretty pictures: From GIS to Spatial Analysis in MCH

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Briefly introduce several broad applications of GIS and spatial analysis in MCH research
    and surveillance
  • Develop a conceptual understanding of what 'space' means in MCH research
  • Link this conceptual understanding with several statistical approaches to the analysis of
    spatially referenced data

PRESENTER

Michael Kramer, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Epidemiology. The Rollins School of Public
Health at Emory University, where he teaches maternal and child health epidemiology and
methods in social epidemiology. His research interests are largely centered at the intersection
of perinatal and early childhood outcomes, social determinants of health, and spatial analysis,
including work on residential economic and racial segregation and preterm birth, and
neighborhood deprivation and early academic readiness.

Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs)

Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are hypothesized causal diagrams that can be used to assess sources of bias in epidemiologic studies based on a set of rules for interpretation. Increasingly, DAGs have been recognized as a valuable tool for evaluating confounding, but they have other uses as well such as clearly communicating underlying assumptions. This webinar is intended to provide a general introduction to DAGs using maternal and child health examples.

PRESENTER

Penelope (Penny) Howards, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University. Dr. Howards is a reproductive epidemiologist with an interest in methodological issues. Recently, she has been exploring how directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) affect our understanding of confounding specifically in relation to statistical adjustment for reproductive history.

Some Cool Advances in Longitudinal Structural Equation Modeling

PRESENTER

Todd D. Little, Ph.D., Professor, Director Quantitative Program, Director Center for Research Methods and Data Analysis, Director University of Kansas Summer Stats Camps at the Department of Psychology at the University of Kansas, where he provides graduate-level training in an array of multivariate statistical techniques including structural equation modeling and growth curve modeling. The majority of his research focuses on using a unifying theoretical perspective. Dr. Little studies developmental changes in how children's and adolescents' action-control processes (i.e., motivational and self-regulation) influence (a) their adjustment and achievement in school settings, (b) their peer and friendship relationships, (c) their reasons for aggression and victimization, and (d) their ability to cope with challenging and stressful events.

Mediation Analysis and Its Application in Maternal and Child Health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Conditioning on intermediates between an exposure and outcome of interest can give rise to paradoxical associations if control is not made for intermediate-outcome confounding.
  • If control for both exposure-outcome and mediator-outcome confounding is made it is possible to decompose the overall effect of an exposure into a direct effect and a mediated effect.
  • Sensitivity analysis can be used to assess the impact of violations in confounding assumptions.

PRESENTER

Tyler VanderWeele, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Departments of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at Harvard School of Public Health, where he teaches graduate-level courses on study design in epidemiologic research. The majority of his research focuses on causal inference, epidemiologic methods, mediation analysis, spillover effects, interaction, confounding, sensitivity analysis, measurement error, and causal diagrams with more than 134 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

Applied Missing Data Analysis

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Provide a conceptual overview of missing data theory and assumptions.
  • Briefly discuss "traditional" missing data techniques that are widely available in software packages, and demonstrate their shortcomings.
  • Provide researchers with a conceptual overview of two "modern missing data handling methods", multiple imputation and maximum likelihood estimation

PRESENTER

Craig Enders, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Quantitative Psychology Concentration, Department of Psychology at Arizona State University, where he teaches graduate-level courses in missing data analyses, multilevel modeling, and longitudinal modeling. The majority of his research focuses on analytic issues related to missing data analyses and multilevel modeling. His book, Applied Missing Data Analysis, was published with Guilford Press in 2010.

Using Electronic Health Records for MCH Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Learn about the history and development of the electronic health record (EHR) and its potential uses in maternal and child health (MCH) research
  • Understand the full capacity of the EHR to advance MCH research, and learn about the potential challenges involved
  • Learn about the application of EHRs for MCH research by following along with a real-life example presented by an innovator in the field
  • Summary: challenges and opportunities

PRESENTERS

Richard "Mort" Wasserman, MD, MPH, FAAP: Dr. Wasserman is Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and Director of the Pediatric in Research Settings (PROS) network. He is currently the Principal Investigator of MCHB grants R40MC24943, UB5MC20286, and UA6MC15585.

Wilson D. Pace, MD, FAAFP: Dr. Pace is Professor of Family Medicine and the Green-Edelman Chair for Practice-based Research at the University of Colorado and the Director of the American Academy of Family Physicians National Research Network. Dr. Pace's work has helped shape a consortium of multiple EHR-enabled networks involving over 3500 primary care clinicians.

Early Life Origins of Pediatric and Adult Diseases

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • Overview on life course framework and critical time windows for health and diseases
  • Discuss major factors contributing to early life origins of health and diseases
  • Discussion on the promise of biomarkers and multi-level data integration in early risk assessment, prediction, and preemptive prevention of pediatric and adult diseases
  • Summary: challenges and opportunities

PRESENTER

Xiaobin Wang, MD, ScD, MPH is director of the new Center on the Childhood Origins of Disease at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the Zanvyl Krieger Professor in Children's Health at John Hopkins University. Dr. Wang is a board-certified pediatrician and molecular epidemiologist in the Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health. Dr. Wang has led dozens of large-scale molecular and environmental epidemiological studies on reproductive health, preterm birth, food allergies, obesity and precursors of pediatric and adult diseases. She has authored and co-authored more than 130 publications, including articles in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, and JAMA.

Cluster Analysis

April is Autism Awareness Month

This webinar focused on latent class cluster analyses (LCCA). LCCA is a model based cluster analysis method used to identify subtypes of related cases (latent classes) from categorical, ordinal, and continuous multivariate data. It provides a way of identifying latent segments (types) for which parameters in a specified model differ.

PRESENTER

Traci Clemons, PhD, Vice President at The EMMES Corporation. Dr. Clemons oversees the Data Coordinating Center for MCHB funded Autism Intervention Research Network on Physical Health (AIR-P). Dr. Clemons also serves as Principal Investigator for numerous statistical and data coordinating centers sponsored by the Federal government and private pharmaceutical corporations in a variety of disease areas, such as age related macular degeneration, cataract, macular telangiectasia, and pediatric inflammatory bowel disease.

Measurement Selection and Development for Maternal and Child Health Research

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

  • To determine best practices for the selection of measurement instruments in maternal-child health research.
  • To understand methods for measure development in maternal-child health research.

PRESENTERS

  • Dr. Jim Guevarra, Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Epidemiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
  • Dr. Carole Tucker, Associate Professor of Physical Therapy, College of Health Professions & Social Work, Temple University

Longitudinal Data Analysis:
An Overview of Mixed Models and Generalized Estimating Equations

This interactive webinar highlighted statistical methods used for longitudinal data. Specifically, the session described the method of generalized estimating equations (GEE) that are often used to analyze longitudinal and other correlated response data; furthermore, the webinar explored a practical application of mixed modeling containing both fixed effects and random effects in maternal and child health research.

PRESENTER

  • Dr. Amy Herring, Professor of Biostatistics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Gillings School of Global Public Health.

Latent Variable Analysis in MCH Research:
A Practical Application of Structural Equation Modeling and Latent Growth Models

This interactive webinar highlighted a statistical method used in maternal child health research. Specifically, the session described practical application of structural equation modeling and latent grown models.

PRESENTER

  • Dr. Beth McManus, Assistant Professor, University of Colorado, 2009 Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholar, University of Wisconsin - Madison.

Preparing a Successful Research Grant Application

During this interactive webinar, you heard from two leading researchers in the maternal and child health (MCH) field about how to prepare a successful research application for competitive funding agencies. This session described the key elements of a strong research proposal, as well as provide tips for making your grant application ready for submission.

PRESENTERS

  • Dr. Cynthia Minkovitz, Professor and Director, Women's and Children's Health Policy Center, at the Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health.
  • Dr. Daniel Armstrong, Professor and Associate Chair, Pediatrics, and Director, Mailman Center for Child Development at the University of Miami.

Preparing a Successful Manuscript

The webinar is presented by two leading editors in the MCH field about how to prepare a successful manuscript for publication. This session further described the organization and key elements of a research paper. It considered both quantitative and qualitative presentations and suggestions regarding making a paper ready for submission.

PRESENTERS

  • Dr. James Perrin is Professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and director of the Division of General Pediatrics and the MGH Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy. Dr. Perrin is also the founding editor of Academic Pediatrics (formally known as Ambulatory Pediatrics).
  • Dr. Donna Petersen is Dean of USF's College of Public Health and the Editor-in Chief of the Maternal and Child Health Journal.
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