Academia

Thank you for joining us as we work toward achieving Nurture NJ’s mission to make New Jersey the safest, most equitable place in the nation to deliver and raise a baby. On this page, you will find the recommended activities and associated resources to aid you and your fellow academics along the way in implementing the plan.

Please click on the STEP below that represents where you are in the process of supporting Nurture NJ.

If you are just beginning, click on Step-1.
If you have been implementing your Nurture NJ action areas for more than three months, click on Step-2.
If you are more than six months into implementation, click on Step-3.
Finally, if you have been working on Nurture NJ initiatives for more than nine months, click on Step-4.

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3

STEP 4

These recommendations apply to you if you are one of the following:

Colleges and universities
Health professional training programs (e.g., medical schools)
Community colleges
Research and data entities
Professional organizations

We are thrilled to work in community with you. Welcome aboard!

Recommendation 3.3

Establish a center in the state capital that focuses on innovation in maternal and infant health through partnerships with the state’s departments and agencies, academic, funder, business, and faith communities.

Activities to Begin in Support of 3.3

New Jersey’s academic community should convene with Nurture NJ leadership to prioritize and plan for partnerships to advance maternal and infant health, including:
- Mapping of “maternal hot spots,” based on data from the Department of Health, to measure access to social services, affordable housing, transportation, and healthy food. From a baseline mapping exercise, stakeholders can explore key issues in more depth, such as housing quality and safety, in partnership with the Department of Environmental Protection’s Lead Exposure Mapping Project, expected to be available in 2021 (This is recommended as a first action of the partnership; please see further detail in Recommendation 8.1).
- Partnerships between institutions of higher learning, such as medical schools, nursing schools, and doula/midwife training programs, and middle schools and high schools in lower resourced communities to develop academic and training pathways, concurrent with science investments in the same communities.
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of state-level programs for parents and babies, including an analysis of the relationship between access to and utilization of state-funded social services and maternal/ infant health outcomes.
- An economic burden study of maternal and infant mortality and morbidity tied to state workforce projections.

Tools, Resources and Models

Altarum Institute. The Business Case for Racial Equity. This document is an analysis quantifying the benefits of reducing inequities in terms of greater earnings, consumer spending, and tax revenues, less spending on health care and incarceration, and greater economic growth. It can serve as a model for conducting a New Jersey-specific analysis.

Recommendation 7.4

Strengthen and expand practice of the midwifery model of care in New Jersey by building a more robust workforce pipeline.

Activities to Begin in Support of 7.4

One or more of the New Jersey state colleges should develop a midwifery program, not housed in a School of Nursing, modeled after the Jefferson College of Health Professions Midwifery Program, for individuals prepared at the bachelor’s level who are not nurses and want to become midwives.
Diversify midwifery faculty through improved recruitment and removal of the requirement for a Master’s in Nursing to become faculty in midwife training programs.

Tools, Resources and Models

Thomas Jefferson Health Professions Midwifery Program. This resource describes a midwifery certification program for non-nurse trainees.

Recommendation 3.3 and 8.1

Regional health hubs should work collaboratively with state departments and agencies, private funders, community and grassroots groups, and academic leaders on a landscape analysis in the state’s Black maternal and infant health hotspots.

Activities to Begin in Support of 3.3 and 8.1

Academic, community and grassroots organizations should develop a plan to conduct a landscape analysis of state and local level organizations.

Recommendation 6.1

Publish a biannual journal or magazine for maternal and infant health in New Jersey through the proposed vendor for maternal and infant health (recommendation 3.3) and an academic partner.

Activities to Begin in Support of 6.1

The New Jersey Integrated Population Health Data Project based at Rutgers University should meet with interested stakeholders to begin planning for the development of a journal, including the Department of Health.
Data or papers from the Nurture NJ Strategic Plan or Companion Document can be reviewed for inclusion in the initial publication.

Recommendation 3.3

Activities to Begin in Support of 3.3

Based on planning and conversations held in the first quarter, academic leaders should be prepared to launch their first project in support of Nurture NJ’s goals.