Cheri Pies, MSW, DrPHFamily, Maternal and Child

Health ProgramsContra Costa Health Services

Preconception Care SummitOctober 30, 2007

Developing and Implementing Teaching Tools for Students and

Health Department Employees on Preconception Health

Overview Preparing Public Health professionals:

Questions to consider

Life Course Game

Tools for Public Health students

Approaches with Health Department staff

Discussion Questions

Questions to Consider What should we be doing differently in our

MCH courses and other SPH courses to train students on this perspective?

What steps need to be taken to train staff in the field about preconception health and the life course perspective?

Life Course Game

Processing Questions What happened in your group?

If you were in the lead in the game, how did that make you feel?

If you were falling behind, how did that make you feel?

What does this game tell us about the lives of our clients?

What issues/concepts does the game help illustrate?

Teaching Public Health Students

Maternal and Child Health Core Course Objective:

Discuss new approaches in the field of MCH that suggest that disparities in birth outcomes are the consequence of differential exposures not only during pregnancy but across the span of a person’s life.

Teaching Public Health Students

Focus on the practical aspects of this paradigm shift

Use of literature beyond traditional journal articles: Mountains Beyond Mountains, The Spirit Catches You When You Fall Down

Incorporate Life Course Perspective into all topics: oral health, adolescent health, MCH nutrition, access to care

Teaching Health Department Staff

Conducting interactive educational activities at staff meetings

Explaining Lu et. al. 12-Point Plan

Engaging staff in identifying current and future activities that fit within 12-Point Plan

Enabling staff to each have their own “A-ha!” moment

Teaching Health Department Staff

Focusing on what this paradigm shift means in concrete terms for them in their specific jobs and programs - making it personal

Laying the groundwork with higher level management in our organization about the importance of preconception health and the Life Course Perspective to make change happen

Discussion Questions What should we be doing differently in our

MCH courses and other SPH courses to train students on this perspective?

What steps need to be taken to train staff in the field about preconception health and the life course perspective?