The MCH Epidemiology program is housed within the Maternal Child Health Services (MCHS) Unit of the NJDOH, FHS. Currently, it falls under the supervision of the Research Scientist I, who serves as the Project Director for the NJ Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS), and the State Systems Development Initiative (SSDI) and oversees all MCH Epidemiology activities. Presently the team encompasses a lead full-time MCH epidemiologist and two full-time Research Scientists II responsible for managing/analyzing MCH data and one FTE vacancy. Title V, MCH Block Grant, and the SSDI grant fund MCH Epidemiology positions.

In state fiscal year 2022, the MCH Epidemiology program recruited a Research Scientist I. She is responsible for the research, design, coordination, and implementation of all programs and activities within the MCH Epidemiology program. She serves as the Maternal and Child Health Epidemiologist Lead and the PRAMS Project Director. She integrates her clinical expertise with public health practice to focus on improving maternal and child health outcomes. Moreover, she designs and conducts complex statistical analyses to identify underlying factors associated with maternal and child morbidities at the state level. She has been instrumental in developing health data systems designed to improve maternal and child health outcomes in NJ. Her additional duties include designing and developing research protocols and conducting evaluation projects of maternal and child health initiatives implemented in NJ communities funded through the Title V grant. Moreover, she is responsible for preparing technical reports and needs assessments for programs; developing, reviewing, and analyzing publications and other documents pertaining to current MCH research developments; disseminating information to internal and external professional staff, and serving as the SSDI Project Director.

The Research Scientist II serves as the NJ PRAMS Coordinator. She has been the NJ PRAMS coordinator for the past nine years. Duties include: completing all SSDI required progress reports and continuation applications; responding to internal and external data requests; providing overall PRAMS project coordination; organizing PRAMS Steering Committee meetings; assuring compliance with the PRAMS protocol; completing all PRAMS progress reports and continuation applications. She plays a key role in coordinating PRAMS data dissemination and the development of PRAMS data briefs, topic reports, and the NJ State Health Assessment Data (NJSHAD) system PRAMS data query.

In May 2022, a second Research Scientist II joined the MCH Epi Team. Her role primarily involves expanding access to data across the state to improve mortality reviews and supporting data initiatives within the MCH Epidemiology unit. She promotes the health of pregnant women, infants, and children through the analysis of MCH data trends and facilitates efforts to develop strategies to improve MCH outcomes. Duties include: standardizing the methodological approach used by NJ Fetal Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) grantees, linking, and analyzing data, conducting applied research projects to provide information about improving health outcomes;, participating in the routine reporting of MCH indicators and birth outcomes research by demographic indicators, geography, and hospital; conducting data linkages and analysis for SSDI; and responding to internal and external data requests.

The MCH Epidemiology program is currently in the process of hiring a Health Data Specialist. The prospective candidate will support all MCH Epi data-related projects. Duties include: linking and analyzing data and conducting applied research projects to provide information about improving health outcomes; linking PRAMS data to birth certificates and/or other data sources and conducting analysis, creating and updating PRAMS-related data for briefs and other reports annually; participating in the routine reporting of MCH indicators and birth outcomes research by demographic indicators, geography and hospital; conducting data linkages and analysis for SSDI; and responding to internal and external data requests.

To better identify the needs of the NJ MCH population, it is paramount for TVP to have access to quality data capable of informing MCH policies, need assessment activities, and program evaluation. Therefore, the MCH Epidemiology unit is working arduously to build and expand the NJ MCH data capacity to support TVP public health interventions and activities while contributing to data-driven decisions making in MCH interventions.

The MCH Epi unit has initiated several efforts to increase data capacity and advance the development and utilization of linked information systems between available datasets (WIC and Vital statistic data) to improve access to electronic MCH health data. Tile V Epidemiologists within the MCH unit use Statistical Analysis System (SAS) and LinkPlus software to perform deterministic and probabilistic data linkage. The data linkage projects are as follows:

1. Periodically, PRAMS Data is linked to NJ Birth Data, Universal Billing Data, and WIC Data, allowing for the development of statewide PRAMS queries posted on NJSHAD and updated yearly. Researchers and NJ TVS use the data query to track various programmatic activities, including infant sleep positioning and breastfeeding practices. This data query gives Title V staff more direct and timely access to NJ PRAMS indicators.
2. Epidemiologists within the MCH Epi unit periodically analyze the linked dataset and draft and post data briefs on the MCH Epidemiology webpage. The data presented in briefs derived from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System weighted survey responses.