MCH Knowledge to Practice Program

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In addition to supporting graduate training of maternal and child health (MCH) professionals, the Maternal and Child Health Bureau is committed to advancing the knowledge and skills of practicing MCH professionals.  Knowledge to practice (KP) education methodologies, including distance learning and blended methods (some in-person meeting time with distance follow-up), provide effective and efficient means by which MCH professionals in practice enhance and advance their analytic, managerial, and clinical skills while continuing to meet their daily on-site responsibilities.  This program strongly supports HRSA goals to improve access to quality health care and services, strengthen the health workforce and improve health equity. Current barriers to continuing education include ever-tightening travel restrictions, capacity shortages, difficulty in taking time away from work, and the cost of trainings.  Distance learning and/or blended learning methods can help address these barriers[[]1].  In addition, in times of severely limited resources, innovation assists in reaching MCH populations, including busy professionals.  Therefore, both KP and MCH Navigator projects should be designed to implement new and emerging technologies.  The applicant must document that the program is addressing a need not covered by current HRSA investments, such as Public Health Training Centers (PHTCs) (http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/publichealth/phtc.html), and Area Health Education Centers (AHECs) (http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/grants/areahealtheducationcenters/index.html). Two types of programs will be funded under this initiative: (1) Knowledge to Practice Program (up to nine grants) and (2) MCH Navigator Program (one cooperative agreement). (1) The Knowledge to Practice grants focus on increasing the skills of MCH professionals by facilitating the timely transfer of new information, research findings and technology related to MCH, and updating and improving the knowledge and skills of health and related professionals in programs serving mothers and children.  Applicants can develop on site, distance education, or blended methods for maximum impact with their target audience; however, a distance learning component is required in order to reach a broad audience and achieve regional and/or national significance.  Designed for both regional and national audiences, distance learning provides an efficient means by which MCH professionals can improve their interdisciplinary training skills via innovative learning technologies and thereby strengthening the MCH workforce and impacting a broader population base. (2) The MCH Navigator cooperative agreement complements the Knowledge to Practice grants, using a web site to link learners to open-access webcasts, presentations, instructional modules, and online courses covering essential MCH skills and knowledge.  MCHB wants to assure that content developed by Knowledge to Practice grants, MCH graduate education programs and continuing education developed by others is readily available to the wider MCH Title V and public health communities.  This program will have four main roles and areas of activity: Strategic and Collaborative Assessment and Planning, Communications and Outreach, Direction and Guidance in the Development of Innovations and Content Quality, and Accountability and Evaluation.

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