Rachael Jameson MPH class of ’22 Discusses her Child Policy Research on Adverse Childhood Experiences and Goals for Community Action
by David Cohen
Rachael Jameson Master of Public Health ’22 conducted a practicum with the Tennessee Department of Health in the Office of Strategic Initiatives (OSI) with Vanderbilt MPH alumnus JW Randolph, (MPH ’18) who serves as the Assistant director. Jameson’s practicum work evaluated Tennessee’s policies around adverse childhood events (ACEs). She developed a toolkit for county health councils to address ACEs and create action plans. She is also working to develop equity principles that the OSI can incorporate in many additional projects.
“The main thing I learned was how to talk about ACEs in a clear and simplified manner so communities in Tennessee could understand the public health issues. I also realized the value of local and state initiatives partnering together to solve public health issues, because state programs might not be as flexible as local groups in the ability to dispense relevant information,” said Jameson.
Although Jameson anticipates that groundwork for addressing ACEs might take extensive time, she is excited to be contributing to efforts that could revolutionize the way young children cope with adverse experiences.
“I’ve always had an interest in child health policy, and I volunteer with a program called Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) that works with foster care children. My experience showed me the need to increase awareness of ACEs in Tennessee. You can really see how ACEs affect foster care children when you work with them,” said Jameson.
While she notes that addressing ACEs is a collaborative effort, the toolkit she developed serves as an important first step in the creation of action plans.
“There are health councils in every Tennessee county who gather to discuss ways to meet their community’s needs. For councils that want to work on addressing ACEs, this ACEs toolkit helps provide standardized definitions of ACEs and their importance including the relationship to health. The toolkit includes a discussion guide on ACEs research, and action guide for integrating local populations into possible solutions. For example, if the council identifies elementary school children as a potential population in their community at risk for ACEs, then the ACEs toolkit could train teachers and adults in trauma informed care of those at-risk children,” said Jameson.
In her final year of the MPH program, Jameson will dedicate more time to exploring child policy in her thesis. Many of her classes provided her with the necessary public health skills in communication and creating effective change. “The Vanderbilt MPH Program does an excellent job in cultivating your interests and helping you pursue them. I was worried about how things would unfold with everything being online, but the program has really helped me succeed and consistently met my needs,” said Jameson.
Quotes have been edited for clarity and length