A number of our MCH students attended the 2021 CityMatCH conference, online in December. What follows is a post from one of the attendees.
By Briasha Jones, BS
As an MPH student, I am filled with a lot of passion and drive to learn as much as possible about public health, specifically Maternal and Child Health (MCH). I often find myself fantasizing about how I will feel when I am done with this organized learning. I say organized in reference to traditional in-the-classroom learning because I know learning never really stops. I think about the impact I will make as a practicing public health professional. These feelings give me a lot of hope but sometimes I wish there was something I could be doing now, while I am a student. Does my voice/opinion matter? Do I have any expertise to offer?
Early in December, I had the pleasure of virtually attending the CityMatch conference. This conference is catered to MCH. One presentation I attended helped with my feeling of hopelessness as a student. The presentation was called Movers and Shakers: Policy at Every Level. The presenter started by talking about some of her beliefs and the most important point she made was the following: “To have an equitable impact on the greatest number of women, children, and families, we must ensure effective public policies, programs, and services.”
This struck me because I always say that I am not very interested in the policy side of MCH, but this made me realize how integral it is and how it sets the tone for other aspects. After she outlined different policies in place and policies that are in progress, she listed different strategies and actions to get involved in the policy-making process. While these were probably geared toward those who are currently working, I realized that a lot of the actions I could also do, now, as a student. They ranged from things as simple as signing up to stay informed about policies and how they impact my community, and using social media, to sharing my views and testimonies with policymakers, among other things. This was one of the first sessions of the conference and also came at a time when I was very stressed with school. I walked away from this session with some motivation to keep going.
Briasha Jones, BS, is a second year MPH student concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2022. Her research interests include disparities in maternal and infant mortality, women’s reproductive and sexual health and midwifery care. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, Netflix binging, cycling classes and spending time with family!
