Public Health Opportunities to Improve Children’s Lives
- Child Development Specialist
- Maternal Child Health
- Health Care Coordinator for Children With Special Needs
- Child Health Specialist
- Emergency Preparedness for Children
Some people may be interested in jobs in public health that are specific to working with children. There are a number of public health careers for people who want to focus specifically on helping babies, children and young people. Below are five of them.
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1. Child Development Specialist
This job in public health involves working with children and is a good choice for people with an interest in psychology. Child development specialists work closely with children and monitor their cognitive, social and behavioral development. They may administer various tests and evaluations including assessing gross motor skills, speech and more through mediums such as arts and crafts projects and games. Child development specialists then coordinate communication and treatment plans between parents, teachers and healthcare providers.
2. Maternal Child Health
People who work in this area of public health careers focus on keeping mothers healthy when they are pregnant and on the well-being of the baby after its birth. Among the duties of a maternal child health professional are running community workshops that focus on the health of the child after birth, teaching mothers about child care topics from a health standpoint and taking down client histories to identify any potential issues. People with a specialty in this area might also work as a WIC nutrition specialist or breastfeeding coordinator.
3. Health Care Coordinator for Children With Special Needs
A person in this job is responsible for evaluating children with special needs and creating the necessary interventions for them. They act as resources for families who have children with special needs and may address issues such as transportation, home modification and eligibility for various services. Health care coordinators for children with special needs may also liaison with school district committees and others throughout the school system to make sure children’s needs are met.
4. Child Health Specialist
Another job in public health that involves working with children is that of the child health specialist. This person may be a generalist or may work in a specific area of child health such as hospice care or play therapy. They might also work on a larger scale, looking at children’s health on a population level. Child health specialists work both on improving children’s health and on helping children cope with their health issues. Their responsibilities may include creating programs to promote children’s health, evaluating health initiatives and determining which ones need improvement, and working one-on-one with children who have health issues.
5. Emergency Preparedness for Children
Epidemics, weather events and natural disasters such as fires are just a few of the types of emergency situations that public health bodies must be prepared for. However, there is a need to focus specifically on making preparations for children. In 2016, Reuters reported that around 20 percent of school districts lacked emergency plans. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Children’s Preparedness Unit was established in 2011 to address the needs of children in a disaster including the effects on their development. People interested in preparing the public for a disaster and on jobs in public health involving children might work with a program such as this or on a more local level.
Public health is an excellent choice of career for people who are interested in helping others. Children can be a particularly vulnerable population and the jobs in public health that are specific to working with children are important to their well-being and that of the general population.
