Faculty Research
Childhood Obesity: Public health
impact and policy responses. "Global View On Childhood
Obesity: Current Status, Consequences, and Prevention" Debasis Bagchi,
Editor. Sept-2010
Understanding the complex factors contributing to the growing
childhood obesity epidemic is vital not only for the improved health of
the world's future generations, but for the healthcare system. The
impact of childhood obesity reaches beyond the individual family and
into the public arenas of social systems and government policy
and programs.
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Global Perspectives on Childhood Obesity explores these
with an approach that considers the current state of childhood obesity
around the world as well as future projections, the most highly cited
factors contributing to childhood obesity, what it means for the future
both for children and society, and suggestions for steps to address and
potentially prevent childhood obesity.
Alumni in Action
Bridging Public Health and Politics: Christopher
Manning, MPA-Health
As an undergraduate, Chris Manning studied public health. After
finishing college he worked at the American Heart Association as a
health educator and over time, he began to get more involved in the
organization's advocacy work.
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In doing so, it soon occurred to him
that he could impact far more people by working on one good public
policy than by conducting the countless community presentations that he
did for his job. During that time he also made two key observations
that have shaped his career ever since. Manning first noticed that
there seemed to be two different groups of people in his field: public
health professionals to whom the political process is mostly foreign,
and policy experts and lobbyists who understand a good deal about
political processes but much less about public health. The field was
lacking people who had equal experience in both areas and a solid
reputation on each side, Manning explains. He also noticed that while
large nonprofits like the American Heart Association have the money and
resources to commit towards influencing policy, these groups make up
only a small part of the nonprofit health sector. For smaller groups,
Manning observed that no one has really been able to identify a role
for them in the government process, helping them to become policy
makers, not policy takers. Manning decided he wanted to be someone who
understood both politics and public health and hoped that after gaining
a good deal of balanced experience he could later consult on how to
make space for nonprofits in the policy arena. Armed with a bachelor's
degree in public health and several years experience in the nonprofit
health sector, it was clear to Manning that the next step was to get a
master's degree with a policy focus. He came to Wagner and created his
own specialization in public affairs by taking the best of the
management classes as well as the best of the policy classes. He
appreciated that Wagner didn't pigeon-hole you in one area. A
multidisciplinary approach really allowed me to be well rounded, he
says. While in school Manning worked at Wagner's Center for Health and
Public Service Research and after graduating he joined Mayor
Bloomberg's Office of City Legislative Affairs where he worked for two
and a half years on health, environmental, and housing issues. In 2006
he moved to the city's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH)
where he currently serves as Assistant Commissioner for the
department's Bureau of Intergovernmental Affairs. The DOHMH is a place
that definitely provides Manning a chance to build a comprehensive set
of skills. The vantage point I have from which to see how government
operates is pretty hard to beat, he says. His office operates in six
major areas: he and his staff of six manage all of the department's
relationships with elected officials on the city, state, and federal
levels; they develop, manage and promote the department's legislative
agenda from initial concept and bill drafting, to lobbying and
advocacy; they track and respond to legislation on all levels of
government (and there are currently more than 1,800 pieces of relevant
legislation on the state level); they coordinate the department's
presence at legislative hearings, selecting appropriate delegates and
helping to frame the message; they provide strategic guidance to
programs around the agency to ensure nothing will become a political
issue that shouldn't; and they oversee community affairs for the
agency, representing DOHMH at community board meetings and collecting
information on the local level. Manning works closely with DOHMH's
commissioner and admits that with so much responsibility the
environment can be very high pressure at times. The decisions I weigh
in on are often all or nothing, he says, which makes the job stressful.
He notes that there is rarely an obvious right answer and the best
choice sometimes doesn't become apparent until after the fact.
Nevertheless, Manning appreciates having the opportunity to have a
voice in decision making. It's fascinating to be a part of the
conversations that happen, he says. With health issues changing all the
time, he explains that the world dictates what I do each day. And
Manning knows that whatever decisions are made will be transparent and
open to criticism. The things you read on Tuesday in the newspaper are
the things I was working on on Monday, he points out. And while he
concedes that no one comes into this job knowing exactly what they're
supposed to do, there is plenty of opportunity for growth. I've become
more comfortable over time with taking information in, thinking
critically, and making a recommendation, he says. Manning has gained a
good deal of experience at DOHMH, but he is in no hurry to leave. I'll
stay until I stop experiencing new things and facing new challenges, he
says. For as long as he does, DOHMH will be lucky to have him, with his
solid understanding of both the world of public health and the politics
of government.
Capstone: In the Field
Gram Vikas: An Alternative to Community-Led
Total Sanitation (2010)
Faculty: Natasha Iskander
Team: Molly Butler, Hallie Caplan, Maulin Mehta, Kimberly Worsham
Gram Vikas is a nonprofit organization located in rural east India
with a mission to promote processes which are sustainable, socially
inclusive and gender equitable to enable critical masses of poor and
marginalized rural people or communities to achieve a dignified quality
of life. The Capstone team was asked to evaluate Gram Vikas' water and
sanitation program in regards to health and community effectiveness.
The team's report integrated the program's impacts on the community
with an analysis of how the managerial structure of the organization affects
the program.
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The team conducted literature reviews and read extensive
field reports from the water and sanitation sector in India and
worldwide to gain a fuller understanding of Gram Vikas' role in the
development community, while reviewing outside evaluations and in-house
testimonials from the organization to gain a better perspective of the
functioning organization. A three week trip to India for field research
gave the team a rich amount of data and insight into Gram Vikas, and
the team's recommendations are geared to help both the organization
specifically as well as leave points of reference for other
organizations involved with community led methods.
