Colorado Department of Public & Environment Health: Children, Youth & Families Branch
Colorado Department of Public & Environment Health: Children, Youth & Families Branch
Briefly describe the project or projects in which the students will be involved and how the project(s) relate to health transformation. Note: Students should work on at least one joint project but can work on individual tasks as well.
Colorado has a history of leadership in advancing the principles of meaningful community engagement (CE) to propel Title V efforts. Examples include administration of the Family LeadershipTraining Institute as well as the formal employment of youth and family advisors. As a result of the transition to the newly-transformed MCH Title V Block Grant, Colorado has committed to enhancing our efforts to applyCEstrategies in an evidence- based, coordinated manner in order to more effectively achieve MCHB health transformation objectives. As part of this process, we have developed a guiding CE framework and common CE metrics associated with outcomes across seven priority areas. Practica students will coordinate and complete projects related to CE strategies to address the priority areas, which include:
- Pregnancy-related depression
- Reducing disparities in infant mortality among the African-American population
- Early childhood obesity prevention
- Developmental screening and referral systems building
- Youth systems building with a focus on bullying and suicide prevention
- Medical home for children and youth with special health care needs
- Substance abuse prevention among the MCH population
List three to five overall project objectives for the joint project that the students will work on and then describe the activities you envision them engaging in to achieve these objectives.
Practica students would collaborate with a staff mentor and existing work groups to:
- Conduct a literature review of evidence-based CE strategies, examples, and characteristics
- Assessperceived barriers to effective CE strategy adoption among a subset of MCH population-based initiatives through key informant interviews and/or a focus groups of state health department staff
- Prepare a fact sheet that highlights how CE enhances achievement of population health outcomes
- Create a shared,online resource of vetted and prioritized CE resources (e.g., tools, talking points, engagement techniques, engagement-to-outcome success stories, etc.)
- Summarize themes and lessons learned in a presentation to the Colorado MCH Leadership Team and the Prevention Services Collaboration Team
Skills required for project.
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Program Evaluation
- Literature Review Skills
- Qualitative Methods (Implementation)
- Qualitative Methods (Analysis)
- Survey Development
- Synthesis of Information
- Effective Communication Skills
- Effective Presentation Skills
Describe the deliverables expected from the “paired practica” team by the end of the summer (even if the project will be ongoing).
By the end of the summer, the students will have created a formal presentation summarizing findings from the literature review and qualitative data collection process (e.g., interviews, focus groups). They will also develop an online platform to serve as a resource for information and tools designed to increase adoption of CE as a strategy to achieving population health outcomes.