GOALS & OBJECTIVES
The goal of this training program is to improve analytic capacity for assessment, planning and evaluation that will ultimately yield the strong epidemiologic evidence to be used to develop and promote best practices in the maternal and child health community. This will be accomplished through the education and preparation of doctoral students to assume positions that promote epidemiologic research and analyses concerned with improving the well-being of women and children in the US. The goals of this program will be accomplished via the following objectives: (a) To nationally publicize the availability of this traineeship on MCH epidemiologic analytic capacity. (b). To recruit two strong 2nd year (or more advanced) BSPH doctoral candidates per year to participate in the training program. Candidates will have a strong 1st year academic record, will be in good academic standing, and will express interest in conducting dissertation research of relevance to state and local MCH issues. Between four and six candidates will be trained under this program over the three year training period. (c). To provide a strong curriculum in the area of epidemiologic methods, biostatistical analytic methods as well as MCH content knowledge. (d.) To provide trainees with experience of working in local health departments on MCH epidemiologic analytic activities and projects. Students will spend two quarters per year working with the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Vital Records Administration, Baltimore City Healthy Start program, or , Office of Women's Health Center for Maternal and Child Health, at DHMH. (e.) To encourage and assist trainees, upon graduation, to publish their dissertation findings in national peer review journals.

METHODOLOGY
To accomplish the first objective, we will publicize the Training Program widely both inside and outside of the School. We will also put information about the program onto our website. To recruit two strong 2nd year (or more advanced) BSPH doctoral candidates per year to participate in the training program we will advertise the training program during the summer and select students with a strong 1st year academic record, who are in good academic standing, and who have an interest in conducting dissertation research of relevance to state and local MCH issues. Trainees will adhere to training specific course requirements to ensure a strong foundation in epidemiology, biostatistics and MCH content. To ensure that we provide trainees with experience of working in local health departments on MCH epidemiologic analytic activities and projects, we have collaborated with the Maryland State Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Vital Records Administration and Baltimore City Healthy Start program. Trainees will spend 1 quarter per year gaining hands on epidemiologic analytic experience. Finally, we will encourage and assist trainees, upon graduation, to publish their dissertation findings in national peer review journals.

COORDINATION
The training program will be housed in the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences (PFHS) at the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Professor Patricia O'Campo who holds an appointment in PFHS as well as the Department of Epidemiology oversaw the first year of this project. Years 2 and 3 will be overseen by Professor Bernard Guyer.

EVALUATION
A monitoring and tracking system will be put into place to ensure that the objectives are accomplished. These activities range from ensuring that the program is widely publicized to monitoring the content and quality of field experience in which the trainees participate.

ANNOTATION
The MCH Epidemiology Training Fellowship will attract and prepare doctoral students to acquire strong skills in the disciplines of epidemiology and maternal and child health, and prepare them for careers in the area of applied epidemiology. The overall purpose of this training project is to increase the number of professional trained in MCH Epidemiology who are interested in and able to address the analytic needs of local and state MCH agencies. Through coursework, direct hands-on experience in local health departments and dissertation work, doctoral students will gain knowledge skills and analytic competence in several MCH Epidemiologic areas. Faculty from the Departments of Population and Family Health Sciences and Epidemiology will oversee and participate in this training program.

KEYWORDS
epidemiology, doctoral, maternal and child health practice, perinatal, women's health, children's health, health departments, MCH research, public health Education, training