Check out my poster here!
Indira presenting her poster on Maternal and Infant Health Data in Alameda County, CA
While I had originally designed my poster for the Alameda County Public Health Department All-Staff Conference in 2024, I was excited to be selected to present it for a second time at the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs (AMCHP) 2025 Annual Meeting in Washington DC.
The theme for this year’s meeting was “Partnering for Impact,” which aligned with me and my classmate Julia’s work with our summer practicum placements. My poster focused on my dual role between Alameda County’s Maternal, Paternal, Child, Adolescent Health (MPCAH) and the Community Assessment, Planning, and Evaluation (CAPE) units, and particularly how maternal and infant health data is used to inform program planning and prevention work for the county’s family health teams. I was excited to share some of my structural determinant graphics regarding topics like prenatal care, breastfeeding, and postpartum, which added context to traditional charts and tables of data. Also included in my poster was a project where I collaborated with the county SIDS Coordinator to facilitate an Infant Mortality Review meeting with various stakeholders, including the Sheriff’s Office and clinicians. Because this work had inspired my capstone project on cardiometabolic disorders and SIDS, I was able to connect on a deeper level with other county and state agency representatives on SIDS, racial inequities, and successful prevention strategies. Other conference events Julia and I enjoyed included the dance break in the plenary session, a workshop on blood pressure monitoring for postpartum Black women, and connecting with Marisol, a DrPH student focusing in MCAH at Berkeley! As a student who will soon be entering the job market, I also found it helpful to ask my poster neighbors about their career trajectories and to visit the exhibitors hall from a networking lens.
View of the US Capitol Building from congressional offices
Visiting Washington DC in light of recent political changes in opposition to public health motivated me to think about ways to advocate for MCAH, especially since I am currently taking the Health Policy Advocacy course. Luckily, AMCHP as an organization had planned for this, and scheduled a day of Capitol Hill visits for conference attendees. To attend Congressional meetings, I attended a training session about a week prior to the conference, where the AMCHP Policy Coordinators walked us through the process of advocating against Medicaid and HHS funding cuts. Then, on Capitol Hill Day, I met other West Coast conference attendees and AMCHP staff members in the Congressional office buildings. I was able to attend a visit with the legislative director for Congressman Mark DeSaulnier, who represents Martinez, Concord, and Danville in California. After introducing ourselves and AMCHP as an organization, our group shared how Medicaid cuts would harm our ability to conduct vital work serving families and young children. As one of two attendees from California in this meeting, I had the opportunity to share about the HRSA grant which supports our Center of Excellence in MCAH, as well as my current internship with San Francisco Department of Public Health, which serves SNAP and Medi-Cal eligible children by providing them with nutrition and physical activity opportunities. Even though we could not advocate for specific bills while representing AMCHP, it was really impactful to make connections from broad discussions of “funding cuts” to actual public health programs and communities served by our organizations. Since there were several advocacy teams from AMCHP on Capitol Hill, I hope our voices impact Congressional decisions coming up!
Indira standing in front of Rep. Mark DeSaulnier’s office at the Rayburn House Office Building
Thanks to the Center of Excellence for supporting my conference attendance, and thanks to my team at Alameda County Department of Public Health for continuing to support my work!