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Incorporating the Life Course Model into MCH Nutrition Leadership Education and Training Programs

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Abstract

Life course perspective, social determinants of health, and health equity have been combined into one comprehensive model, the life course model (LCM), for strategic planning by US Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau. The purpose of this project was to describe a faculty development process; identify strategies for incorporation of the LCM into nutrition leadership education and training at the graduate and professional levels; and suggest broader implications for training, research, and practice. Nineteen representatives from 6 MCHB-funded nutrition leadership education and training programs and 10 federal partners participated in a one-day session that began with an overview of the models and concluded with guided small group discussions on how to incorporate them into maternal and child health (MCH) leadership training using obesity as an example. Written notes from group discussions were compiled and coded emergently. Content analysis determined the most salient themes about incorporating the models into training. Four major LCM-related themes emerged, three of which were about training: (1) incorporation by training grants through LCM-framed coursework and experiences for trainees, and similarly framed continuing education and skills development for professionals; (2) incorporation through collaboration with other training programs and state and community partners, and through advocacy; and (3) incorporation by others at the federal and local levels through policy, political, and prevention efforts. The fourth theme focused on anticipated challenges of incorporating the model in training. Multiple methods for incorporating the LCM into MCH training and practice are warranted. Challenges to incorporating include the need for research and related policy development.

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Acknowledgments

This project was partially supported by grants from Health Resources and Services Administration’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau for Leadership Education and Training in Nutrition to the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Indiana University, University of Alabama at Birmingham, University of California, Los Angeles, University of Minnesota, and University of Tennessee at Knoxville. Special thanks for thoughtful reviews and comments are extended to Holly Grason, Sue Lin, and Denise Sofka of Health Resources and Services Administration, Karyl Rickard and Deborah Abel of Indiana University, and Diane Anderson from Baylor College of Medicine. Additional thanks to Elizabeth (Lizzy) Miller, MCH nutrition trainee at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who assisted with content analysis, and to Margaret Tate, Consultant, who helped facilitate work of this collaborative project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, 1215 W. Cumberland Avenue, JHB 229, Knoxville, TN, 36996-1920, USA

    Betsy Haughton, Kristen Eppig, Shannon M. Looney & Marsha Spence

  2. Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Colorado State University, 234 Gifford Building, Fort Collins, CO, 80523-1571, USA

    Leslie Cunningham-Sabo

  3. Department of Pediatrics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1600 7th Avenue S., CPPI 410, Birmingham, AL, 35233, USA

    Bonnie A. Spear

  4. School of Public Health, Division of Epidemiology and Community Health, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN, 55454, USA

    Jamie S. Stang

  5. Maternal and Child Health Trainee Alumnus, Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, 1215 W. Cumberland Avenue, JHB 229, Knoxville, TN, 36996-1920, USA

    Kristen Eppig

  6. Maternal and Child Health Trainee, Department of Nutrition, University of Tennessee, 1215 W. Cumberland Avenue, JHB 229, Knoxville, TN, 36996-1920, USA

    Shannon M. Looney

Authors
  1. Betsy Haughton
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  2. Kristen Eppig
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  3. Shannon M. Looney
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  4. Leslie Cunningham-Sabo
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  5. Bonnie A. Spear
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  6. Marsha Spence
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  7. Jamie S. Stang
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Betsy Haughton.

Glossary of terms

Life course perspective

Multidisciplinary approach to understanding the mental physical and social health of individuals, which incorporates both life span and life stage concepts that determine the health trajectory

Health trajectory

Health development over a lifetime that can be positively or negatively impacted by protective and risk factors

Social determinants of health

Model that proposes that health status is determined by the physical and social environment formed by the distribution of money, power and resources at global, national and local levels and by the policies that influence the distribution of these factors

Health equity

Model that integrates the principles and practices of social justice, social capital, human rights and health-equity ethics, and focuses on health equity rather than health disparities, and states that differences in health are unnecessary, avoidable, unfair and unjust

Life course model

Model that explains that social, environmental, health equity and other factors affect health development over a lifetime

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Haughton, B., Eppig, K., Looney, S.M. et al. Incorporating the Life Course Model into MCH Nutrition Leadership Education and Training Programs. Matern Child Health J 17, 136–146 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-0959-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-0959-1

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