Maternal and Child Health (MCH) continues to be one of the most important fields of study for improving the health of populations across the globe. Two the 10 Millennium Development Goals strive specifically to improve maternal and child health, and several others, such as gender equality and HIV/AIDS, are critical aspects of Maternal and Child Health. Written for students in public health, medical, and allied health professions, Global Case Studies in Maternal and Child Health brings to life theoretical and conceptual ideas discussed in primary texts, through the analysis of lived stories of maternal and child health programs around the world. Using structured case studies of community-based programs in maternal and child health from around the world, students will be presented with real-life ethical, practical and theoretical challenges that will develop critical and analytical thinking skills and also provide them with practice models that they can use in their future or present work.
Maternal and Child Health continues to be one of the most important fields of study for improving the health of populations across the globe. Two the 10 Millennium Development Goals strive specifically to improve maternal and child health, and several others, such as gender equality and HIV/AIDS, are critical aspects of Maternal and Child Health.
Ruth C. White is Associate Professor of Social Work at Seattle University in Seattle, WA, USA. She received her PhD in Social Welfare and MPH with double specialities in Maternal and Child Health and International Health from the University of California, Berkeley, and her MSW from McGill University in Montreal. She has worked with pregnant and parenting teenage mothers and perinatal women with substance abuse problems. Along with partners in Uganda she developed and co-managed a very successful community-based safe motherhood program - Maama Omwaana - which she later transferred to the Ugandan Ministry of Health. A World Affairs Council Fellow, she is also a member of the board of Health Alliance International - a global health NGO. Her new area of expertise is economics and she is interested in the impact of maternity leave policies on women's work force participation and the impact of microfinance programs on women and children. She also writes in the area of mental health. She teaches global development, macro social work practice and data analysis to undergraduate social work students at Seattle University in Seattle, WA, USA. Her policy blog takes on challenging issues and can be found at: provokingpolicy.blogspot.com. For more information on Dr. White: ruthcwhite.com