Maternal and Child Health Training Program

Where MCH leadership begins.

  • Print this
  • Email this

Home > Funded Projects > By Program > Distance Learning > President and Fellows of Harvard College

Funded Projects Search
 
   
 
-OR-
 
Advanced Search >>

President and Fellows of Harvard College

Grant Title: MCH Distance Learning

Web Site: President and Fellows of Harvard College Project Exit Disclaimer

Project Director(s):

David Hemenway, MD
President and Fellows of Harvard College
Health Policy and Management/School of Public Health
677 Huntington Avenue Kresge, 309
Boston, MA  02155-6028
Phone: (617) 432-4493
FAX: (617) 432-3699
Email: hemenway@hsph.harvard.edu

Problem:

This projct seeks to add two new courses to a free, on-line, ongoing series the "National Center for Suicide Prevention Training” (NCSPT). The two new workshops will focus on clinical skills and public health leadership skills in managing the care of suicidal youth.

Goals and Objectives:

Goal 1: Improve the ability and willingness of practitioners to counsel families of suicidal youth on reducing lethal means of suicide at home Objective 1: Work with collaborators to develop a sixth workshop in the NCSPT series, “Counseling on Reducing Suicidal Youths’ Access to Lethal Means.” (7/08-2/09) Objective 2: Pilot test, strategically market, and implement Workshop 6. (3/09-10/09) Goal 2: Improve emergency department (ED) policies and protocols for treating youth self-harm patients. Objective 1: Work with collaborators to develop “Workshop 7: Improving ED Policies for Pediatric Self-Harm Patients. (3/09-10/09) Objective 2: Pilot test, strategically market, and implement Workshop 7. (11/09-6/10) Goal 3: Evaluate both workshops and disseminate results to improve future MCH and suicide prevention training efforts. Objective 1: Assess impact of workshops on participants’ professional practices. (2/10-6/11) Objective 2: Disseminate findings to professional audiences. (10/10-6/11).

Methodology:

This project will add two new courses to a free, on-line, ongoing series, the National Center for Suicide Prevention Training (NCSPT). NCSPT is collaboration between the Harvard School of Public Health's (HSPH) Harvard Injury Control Research Center and the Education Development Center's Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC). Since the funding notification, we have begun work on Workshop 6, which strengthens trainee’s clinical skills regarding counseling on reducing youth's access to lethal means of suicide, particularly firearms. We have worked with collaborators in New Hampshire (Elaine Frank, Mark Ciocca) to draft the script for a video vignette, that will be featured on the training web site. We have also drafted the Web site. Finally, we are working with Dr. Marie McCormick, Director of the Maternal & Child Health Training Program at HSPH to schedule a session to present the NCSPT sessions to her trainees, who include master's and doctoral level students whose research focuses on maternal and child health.

Coordination:

HICRC will research, write, produce, and evaluate the courses with input from content specialists and SPRC. SPRC will host the Web site and permanently administer and maintain the workshops . Both groups will promote the workshops. We will work with the Association Maternal & Child Health Programs to disseminate the NCSPT findings.

Evaluation:

We will examine course enrollment data, Web usage statistics, pre-test and post-test scores, evaluation form data, and feedback from pilot test participants. We will contact a sample of trainees three months after they complete a workshop to document changes in professional practice resulting from training.

Experience to Date:

Progress on NCSPT On-Line Workshops: To date, we have written the script for the CALM training video (for Workshop 6) and received review comments from an interdisciplinary group of experts, begun drafting the written portions of Workshop 6, begun the literature review for Workshop 7, made substantial updates to Workshop 1, and are in the process of updating Workshop 3. A total of 1,167 participants have registered for Workshops 1-4 so far this fiscal year. Progress on Outreach, Evaluation, and Dissemination: We have reached out specifically to MCH groups by meeting with the new head of the Children Safety Network (which provides TA on injury, violence and suicide prevention to state MCH agencies), meeting with the MCH program here at the school and lecturing in their weekly seminar, meeting with regional state injury prevention directors on a quarterly basis (some of whom are located organizationally in the state health department MCH division), presenting a number of presentations to state suicide prevention groups and medical providers, and participating in the Massachusetts HRSA grantees meeting. We provided technical assistance to state suicide prevention groups’ planning efforts. We evaluated workshops 1-4 and submitted a book chapter (Nova Science Publishers, in press) on internet-based training in suicide prevention.

Back To Top