Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology Unit
Our Vision:
Use rigorous, high-quality, data-driven surveillance, needs assessment, evaluation, and research to improve the health of Maternal and Child Health (MCH) populations which include:
- Women of childbearing age;
- adolescents;
- children;
- infants; and
- children and youth with special health care needs.
Our Mission:
- Provide expertise in applied epidemiology and surveillance to promote public health decisions and recommendations for the best possible health outcomes for MCH populations.
- Conduct research projects based on innovative scientific approaches and advanced statistical analyses to expand the knowledge base on maternal and child health populations.
- Inform public health interventions, programs, and policies by translating timely and accurate surveillance, needs assessment, evaluation, and research into usable and meaningful information.
- Improve surveillance and case review activities in Texas and timely and accurate reporting of data and findings.
Our Values:
- Integrity: trust, transparency, accountability, ethical commitment, reliability, respect.
- Excellence: meet and exceed expectations, continuous improvement, identify and document best practices, promote high-quality outcomes.
- Professionalism: personal and professional accountability, unity within our unit, discipline, inclusivity, diversity.
- Leadership: innovative, proactive, visionary, stewardship.
Our Functions and Expertise:
- Population Health Needs Assessment and Surveillance: To assess the status, needs, and disparities within the maternal and child health population through data collection, data analytics, and geographic mapping.
- Program and Intervention Evaluation: To use mixed-mode data collection to drive maternal and child health program and intervention refinement.
- Measurement and Reporting: To measure and report the impact of health conditions, and respond to data requests by agency executives, legislators, federal and local partners, advocates, media, and the public-at-large.
- Research and Creative Inquiry: To expand the knowledge base by assessing the causes and impacts of health outcomes among maternal and child health populations. To stay current on best practices and cutting-edge methods in the field.
- Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System: To collect, analyze, and report Texas-specific, population-based data on maternal attitudes and experiences before, during, and shortly after pregnancy.
- State Systems Development Initiative: To develop, enhance, and expand maternal and child health data capacity for its needs assessment and performance measure reporting in the Title V MCH Block Grant program.
Have a data request? Please email email MCH Epi.
View reports produced by MCH Epi at the link below.
