Maternal & Child Health

• SPH MC 705: Sexual Health: From Science to Policy
  Our knowledge of sex and sexuality is derived in large part from the sociocultural and religious context of our society and the specific community and families in which we have been raised. In this class we will use a variety of teaching methods to allow you to discover how much you really know about basic sexual health information, including current public health sexual health issues. Then you will acquire an understanding of the issues based on current thinking from the biologic and social sciences. After covering the basics of each topic, we will explore some of the contextual factors, such as history, culture, or economics that affect framing of the issues and discuss the direct public health ramifications. The course will also help you develop your skills in communication, debate, teaching, and podcasting about sexual health from a public health perspective.
• SPH MC 725: Women, Children and Adolescents: A Public Health Approach
  This survey course introduces students to public health theories, methods, and topics central to maternal, child and family health research and practice. Grounded in a life course perspective, this course examines how the health of infants, children, birthing parents, women, and families are shaped by the complex interplay of biologic and social determinants of health, over a lifetime and across generations. Through a case method teaching approach, select current topics tailored to student interest (e.g., asthma, adolescent pregnancy, infant mortality, vaccination, and food access) will be studied in depth and used to illustrate how the most urgent maternal, family and child health outcomes are monitored and addressed through research and practice. Throughout the course, special attention will be given to key drivers of health inequities, as well as multilevel, strengths-based approaches designed to address these. By the end of the course students will be able to formulate an MCH-related public health question, conduct and write a literature review, and craft a policy slide deck. Taking MC 725 is the most common way students introduce themselves to MCH studies and the MCH context certificate.
• SPH MC 750: Disability Justice Through the Life Course: Programs, Policies, and Turning Advocacy to Action
  The course introduces students to issues related to the health and well-being of individuals living with disabilities across the life course, and to the health and social policies and multi-sectoral programs that impact their quality of life and the achievement of disability justice in the U.S. MC750 progresses from the examination of the legislative framework relevant to this population, to key controversies and conversations related to disability justice, and skills and strategies for advocacy and systems change. Throughout, the course covers diverse types of disabilities, intersectionality and disability identity, and how a deficit-based system of services for disabled people contributes to the inequities experienced by those living with disabilities.
• SPH MC 759: Perinatal and Child Health Epidemiology
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH717 and PH720 or instructor permission. - Issues related to the perinatal period from the framework of epidemiologic methods will be examined in this course through critical review of epidemiologic studies and exploration of measurement, design and data. Key issues to be examined include maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, cesarean birth, preterm birth, breastfeeding and child development, with a special focus on disparities in these outcomes. Participants will review various sources of perinatal epidemiologic data, and will address classification issues and challenges in assessing pregnancy exposures and outcomes related to these data sources. The final course project involves working with fellow students on the development of a poster and an abstract for submission to a national research meeting based on an original analysis of a public database.
• SPH MC 763: Maternal and Child Health Policy Making
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH719 - This course explores the process by which U.S. national and state policymakers allocate resources to mothers and children. Beginning with an analysis of the evolution of U.S. maternal and child health (MCH) policy, it uses case studies of MCH issues such as paid family leave, maternal mortality, breast cancer and child vaccination to examine the special features of legislative, executive, administrative, and judicial policy making in MCH. The course examines how policy making in MCH has traditionally been characterized by the frequent use of mothers and children as political symbols rather than providing actual health benefits. This course is taught in seminar format with weekly readings and student-led discussion.
• SPH MC 775: Social Justice & the Health of Populations: Racism & Other systems of Oppression in the U.S.
  Graduate Prerequisites: MPH Core Curriculum (at minimum, PH720) or evidence of other appropriate public health coursework. The goal of this introductory course is for students to equip themselves with the fundamental knowledge base needed to critically re-examine systemic sources of health inequities, and challenge traditional public health models of addressing them. We examine the impact of systems of oppression, like White Supremacy and Ableism, on patterns of population health. We study frameworks such as Public Health Critical Race Praxis and Intersectionality, and experiment with their applications for addressing health inequities. We learn from community-led organizations such as ACT UP and the Young Lords to inspire our own public health strategizing. The course is intended for students without substantial exposure to liberative frameworks and actions for health equity. Those who feel they already have strong foundational knowledge around systems of oppression and anti-oppressive public health practices and approaches are encouraged to consult with the instructor before registering.
• SPH MC 783: Substance Use among Minoritized and Marginalized Populations
  This course offers a window into the drivers, patterns, and consequences of substance use among diverse populations throughout the lifecourse. Through assessment of current evidence, reflection and discussion, application of multilevel theoretical frameworks, and engagement with practitioners and researchers, we will explore the complexity of sex, gender, and racial-ethnic differences in substance use and health service utilization. We will review current trends in substance use among different communities, explore specific topics of public health significance (e.g., pregnancy, interpersonal relationships, infectious disease transmission, stigma, and disparities), contrast understandings of substance use acquired through quantitative and qualitative research methods, and critically evaluate the provision of care. This course will provide you with a deeper understanding of the significance and complexity of substance use and related issues among people with diverse identities and backgrounds.
• SPH MC 785: Reproductive Health Advocacy: From Rights to Justice
  This course prepares students to critically re-evaluate, strengthen, and argue their positions on matters related to the control of sex and reproduction. It allows students to focus on an array of issues related to fertility and its regulation among those who can become pregnant, and to use multiple frameworks--public health science, law, racism and oppression in the social history of fertility control, religion and politics--to identify their values and frame and argue their positions for purposes of advocacy. The course begins with an overview of the social and political history of fertility control and current reproductive health services and policies, and proceeds to hands-on conversations with a panel of advocates from diverse organizations, and a state house visit. We then examine debates at the state and national levels in preparation for advocacy skill-building and practice, such as developing fact sheets, designing advocacy strategies, and creating products for advocacy organization.
• SPH MC 786: Immigrant and Refugee Health
  This course focuses on immigrants in the U.S. and applies a community perspective to the study of their health and well-being. People move across borders for reasons that range from economic need to war and violence, to natural disasters associated with climate change. As migrants settle in the US., communities in the U.S. change and the public health challenges shift. Within communities, immigrants vary by ethnic identity, age, class, length of time in the U.S. and level of acculturation. Each of these factors influences concepts of health and if, how, when, and where health care is sought and received. The course begins with an overview of how political, economic, cultural factors at the global and local levels shape the migration patterns and health of immigrants and refugees. We then examine specific immigrant groups and health issues, with attention to interventions that engage community members to act. Students will gain critical skills in contextual analysis, community based participatory research, and project design. Students will learn about the importance of adopting a multicultural approach.
• SPH MC 795: The Health of Adolescents and Emerging Adults
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH717 OR SPHEP714 OR SPHPH720) - This course equips advanced undergraduates and Master's students from all departments and disciplines to examine the public health challenges presented by adolescents. The course begins with an introduction to adolescent development (i.e., in terms of biology, behavior, social roles, and psychology), and also reviews basic themes of public health (i.e., a public health approach, the social ecological framework). The course continues with in-depth review of the prevalence and causes of several key risk behaviors and health problems among adolescents, including: unintentional injury, sexual risk behaviors, suicide and mental health, obesity, multiple types of violence, and substance use. The course also reviews: health policy, school health, the role of the media on adolescent health, and issues in adolescent health research. Class sessions involve a variety of formats including small group work, lecture and discussion, activities, and debates.
• SPH MC 800: Preventing Mental Health Concerns: A Life Course Perspective
  The course will use a prevention framework to examine mental health interventions targeted to women, children, and youth. We will explore how events that occur during critical developmental periods - early childhood, adolescence, and pregnancy - can alter the life course of the individual and the family. Readings will focus on preventive interventions that target specific mental health concerns, as well as those focused on addressing risk and protective factors common to many mental health issues. We will pay particular attention to how preventive interventions can be implemented and disseminated at a community level and integrated into primary care health care settings and major public health programs. The course will involve substantial group work; the majority will be done during formal class sessions.
• SPH MC 802: Implementing Community Health Initiatives: A Field-Based Course in Leadership and Consultation
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. This course is designed for public health students from diverse backgrounds who aspire to be effective leaders for change in community health settings. This course applies justice-based practice and humble consulting frameworks. Students work in teams to define and address a specific challenge with partners in a community health agency, health system, or cross-sector organization. Course sessions engage students in learning and teaching key concepts, theories, and practices in management, leadership, and community partnership. Students apply tools to define a challenge, scan the environment, investigate evidence, define interests of key partners, map organizational processes, align and mobilize constituents, synthesize findings, and communicate findings and recommendations to the client organization in a polished presentation and consultant report. Throughout the course, students are challenged to use anti-oppression practices and learn to build strong teams, create breakthroughs when breakdowns occur, and assess themselves and others as team players. The course prepares students to act as collaborative consultants in real-world professional settings.
• SPH MC 815: Sexual and Reproductive Health Advocacy: Practice in Global and Local Context
  Graduate Prerequisites: (SPHPH719 & SPHPH720) or consent of instructor. - MC815 is the 4-credit practice-based version of MC785, with expanded content in the area of global SRH and LGBTQ-related fertility and family formation. This course prepares students to design, lead, or collaborate in advocacy efforts around matters of sex, reproduction, sexual identity, and gender expression as they relate to family creation in public life. MC815 uses case-based teaching and practice-based learning. During the course, students engage with an advocacy organization and participate in an ongoing campaign or produce a product relevant to a new initiative. Throughout the course, student assess their own values related to SRH, and draw on multiple disciplines --social history, law, medicine, politics, religion, and public health science--to critically examine SRH movements and debates as they have played out in the U.S. and globally over time. Students develop skills in critical analysis, argument, advocacy strategies, and writing and presentation to diverse audiences, including public officials, readers of social media and the popular press.
• SPH MC 820: Managing Public Health Programs and Projects
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH718 or instructor permission. This course provides hands-on experience in program and project management by applying core management principles, implementation strategies, budgeting, and quality improvement techniques. Designed to mirror a real-world work environment, the course emphasizes professional skill development through teamwork and practical application. Students will collaborate to analyze an existing public health program or organization and produce tailored deliverables for a real public health client. Class sessions function like a workplace, with students expected to be active and responsible team members. Dedicated team meeting time simulates workplace practices such as agenda setting, meeting facilitation, workflow management, peer evaluation, and oral presentations. Individual skills will also be strengthened through teaching cases and assignments. This interactive, student- centered approach prioritizes both professional growth and hands-on experience to prepare students for real-world public health careers.
• SPH MC 840: Gender, Intersectionality and Health Policy
  Graduate Prerequisites: SPH PH720 or instructor permission. The course critically examines health policy through a gender-expansive and intersectional lens, centering the experiences of cis and trans women, people assigned female at birth (AFAB), and gender nonbinary persons. The semester begins with an exploration of policy mechanisms while applying feminist strategies to assess health inequities. Students will learn to analyze and advocate for policy change by integrating evidence, political strategy, and stakeholder engagement into their work. Using an intersectionality-based policy analysis framework, the course investigates how health policies are shaped by gender, race, socio-economic status, geography, and sexual orientation, and how these factors interact to create disparities. Students will apply these concepts to a variety of case studies on gendered health policies, including mammography guidelines, trans-affirming healthcare access, BMI as a public health measure, social security policies, and protections for domestic workers. Each case study will encourage students to assess the structural, social, and economic forces influencing policy decisions and identify levers for change. By the end of the course, students will have developed practical skills in policy analysis, stakeholder mapping, and effective advocacy. They will be prepared to craft compelling arguments for diverse audiences, including legislators, media outlets, private foundations, and public health policymakers, equipping them with the tools to advance gender-equitable health policies.
• SPH MC 931: Directed Studies in Maternal and Child Health
  Directed Studies provide the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of a an SPH faculty member. Directed studies with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students may register for a 1, 2, 3, or 4-credit directed study by submitting a signed proposal and registration form. Students are placed in a section by the Registrar's Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study or directed research during their MPH education.
• SPH MC 932: Directed Research in Maternal and Child Health
  Directed Research provides the opportunity for students to explore a special topic of interest under the direction of an SPH faculty member. Directed research with a non-SPH faculty member or an adjunct faculty member must be approved by and assigned to the department chair. Students may register for 1, 2, 3, or 4 credits. To register, students must submit a signed proposal and registration form. Students are placed in a section by the SPH Registrar’s Office according to the faculty member with whom they are working. Students may take no more than eight credits of directed study or directed research during their MPH education.