Utah has historically been known for its youthful population and high fertility rates, setting it apart from national trends. However, the public health landscape is shifting with recent demographic trends showing an aging population and declining birth rates, driven by factors like economics, housing, and health.
Yet, the essential nature of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) remains a cornerstone of community well-being. In response, the University of Utah’s Division of Public Health is investing in expanding MCH training to ensure communities continue to receive the support and care they need across all stages of life.
Lisa Gren, PhD, in collaboration with Kimberley Shoaf, DrPH, and Shahpar Najmabadi, PhD, has been awarded a five-year grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). The grant supports efforts to expand the number of schools and programs of public health offering MCH training, increase the number and range of public health graduate students trained in MCH, and build faculty capacity in this area. To achieve these goals, the faculty members proposed that the initiative include developing a certificate program, creating new courses, and offering stipends to students.
Gren’s team surveyed existing MCH-related graduate courses at the University of Utah and found only seven, four of which are taught by the Division of Public Health faculty. Working with other departments on campus, the team hopes to identify other courses that fit with the MCH life course perspective.
Through this grant, at least two new courses will be developed in the division to better prepare students for MCH-focused careers in health departments, non-governmental and community-based organizations. The new MCH training complements existing public health emphases in community and global health and allows students across campus additional training opportunities.
The life course approach of MCH spans prenatal care, maternity, infancy, childhood development, mental health, wellness, and disabilities. “Utah will be a good home for this kind of approach, where we emphasize the importance of families,” said Gren. “Public health is a field that really supports families across a broad span of experience.”
Once developed, the certificate program will hopefully be extended in various formats to public health schools and programs across Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Many of these states have large rural areas with limited resources, and the expansion aims to address gaps in MCH training. “We’re building relationships with tribal public health entities and plan to look at workforce training within health departments as well,” said Gren.
Gren believes integrating public health perspectives into clinical care is becoming increasingly important and sees potential for interdepartmental collaborations with the Division of Family & Community Medicine. As public health professionals and primary care providers join efforts, they create even more opportunities for research and evaluation that can improve long-term health outcomes for these populations.
Department of Family & Preventive Medicine Associate Director of Research Tanis Garcia emphasized the benefits and implications of receiving grants that allow for expansion of training, research, and education. “Grants like this help build courses that not only strengthen specialized skills in MCH, especially for rural areas that need it most, but also help us train students whose backgrounds reflect the communities that they’ll end up serving,” said Garcia. “It’s a meaningful step toward growing a workforce that’s both skilled and deeply connected to the people they support—something that really aligns with our mission as a department.”