Fieldwork Opportunities as of July 18, 2022 - CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy

Position: Fall 2022 Nutrition Fieldwork Position- Part of the Solution (POTS)

About POTS:

Part of the Solution (POTS) is a ‘one-stop shop’ helping low-income individuals and families move from crisis to stability and, ultimately, self-sufficiency. POTS helps more than 30,000 people, including 9,000 children, annually. Currently, services include a Community Dining Room, a Food Pantry, Shower, Mail Facilities, Barbershop, Case Management, Legal Clinic and Stability Services Counseling.

Job Description: Fall 2022 Fieldwork Position – In-Person:

The Culinary Intern position will assist POTS staff in a dual role. On site, an intern will help prepare meals with our chef, washing dishes, maintaining correct food temperatures, chopping vegetables, seasoning meat, and assisting new volunteers. As well, in an office setting at the POTS location, an intern will update and create a recipe book for POTS staff to use for years to come. The intern will also report on nutritional values of each recipe in an effort to provide more education materials about nutrition for our kitchen staff. This position reports to the Volunteer and Partnerships Coordinator, as well as the Associate Director of Food and Dignity.

35% of time focused on Guidebook Development: Create a recipe guidebook following the NYDA’s MyPlate guidelines, focusing on grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and protein. This is an essential part of creating a long-lasting document for all staff and interns to utilize focused on the nutritional value of our food. An intern must be creative and have significant attention to detail.
35% of time focused on Data Gathering: Support the POTS team’s efforts to understand the nature of food waste on site. Interns will also create surveys targeted toward clients to gage knowledge of nutrition, as well as to gather input and data about current meals distributed. Guidebook development and survey distribution will happen in office at least one day a week.
30% of time focused on Culinary focus: POTS prepares over 400 meals a day with a host of other volunteers who are not all trained in culinary. The fieldwork student will be invited to join the POTS team on site at least one full day a week to use knives, cutlery, and cooking machinery to provide and serve healthy, nutritious meals following the NYDA’s MyPlate guidelines. This is a fast-paced environment.

Required Skills

CUNY SPH student in good academic standing
Pursing career in culinary, nutrition, or related field
Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing
Knowledgeable with Microsoft Word and Excel
Willingness to be creative and flexible, compassionate, and patient
Dedication to the mission and values of POTS
Must be available at least two full days a week from 8am to 3:30pm on site
Must be vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19
Ability to lift 20-30lbs
Ability to stand on your feet for 3 hours

To Apply:

Email resume to Stephanie Caban, Volunteer and Partnerships Coordinator, at scaban@potsbronx.org

Nutrition Concentration Competencies

Interpret how social, behavioral, environmental, political and cultural factors can impact food intake and nutrition in individuals and communities
Communicate literacy-appropriate evidence-based nutrition information using a variety of communication platforms

Position: Spring 2023 Fieldwork Placement for Institute for Translational Epidemiology (ITE) at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) – Student Research Volunteer

Program Description: The mission of the Institute for Translational Epidemiology at the Icahn School of Medicine is to develop and facilitate interdisciplinary, collaborative, and translational research integrating population studies, genomic and proteomic research, with the ultimate purpose of spearheading critical changes in clinical practice and improving the treatment of disease and patient quality of life.

Fieldwork Position Overview: This role will support the Director of the Institute for Translational Epidemiology and help ensure that the team meets greater program goals and deliverables in a timely and effective manner. The position’s responsibilities encompass various responsibilities pertinent to the research studies conducted at the institute.

This is a fieldwork position, totaling 180 hours from January – May 2023. (~12 hours/week) The position will conclude at the close of the CUNY SPH Spring semester.

Student Research Volunteer Fieldwork Responsibilities:

Contacting research study participants to obtain relevant data
Organizing and maintaining data on various databases
Preparing manuscripts for publications and/or preparing posters for presentations

Qualifications:

Student at CUNY SPH in good academic standing
Student with background in epidemiology and/or statistics

To apply, please email your resume to translational.epi@mountsinai.org

Position: Fall 2022 Fieldwork Placement for Digital Mental Wellbeing Project.

Program description: Mendü is a digital therapeutics company that offers inclusive therapeutic audio based prompts and exercises for our users to better their mental health. Our goal is to change the way we manage our mental health by utilizing the clinical benefits of journaling in an accessible and novel way. We are focused on the mental health crisis affecting 1.2 B marginalized women that are traditionally left out of the mental health and wellness space.

Fieldwork Position Overview:

To better aid the community we serve and the unique mental health challenges they face, we understand the need to collect relevant data. The student involved in this project will be conducting interviews, sending questionnaires, and developing relationships with community members to understand their needs. They will also be quantifying this data and analyzing it over time.

The student will also have the opportunity to research new content ideas & topics that are relevant to our community, test data assumptions, and research SEO and ASO.

This is a fieldwork position, totaling 180 hours from August –December 2022. (~10 hours/week). The position will conclude at the close of the CUNY SPH Fall semester.

Intern Fieldwork Responsibilities:

Research the user experience flow of digital therapeutics to establish best practices.
Develop and research community needs in regards to mental health.
Development and research of digital mental health tool efficacy.
Conduct user interviews & evaluate how we can improve our product + do value proposition canvas.
Research new content ideas & topics that are relevant to our community + prioritize them.
Research how we can communicate with our users to grow our movement: social & email communication flow.
Analyze user discovery pipeline.
Research SEO & ASO.

Qualifications:

Student at CUNY SPH in good academic standing
Strong writing skills and attention to detail
Strong time management skills
Experience with data collection and analysis
Interest (and experience preferred) in community outreach and engagement in relation to mental health.

To apply, please email your resume to demi@mendu.co.uk. (If applicable: Applications will be considered on a rolling basis.)

Position: Fall 2022 Fieldwork Placement for Cannabis Equity Project/Marcus Meets Malcolm

Program description: The Cannabis Equity Project is a community initiative supported by Dr. Cheryl Smith. As New York legalizes sale of cannabis, the Cannabis Equity Project is working to ensure that Harlemites, legacy vendors and those impacted by cannabis laws/legislation have the information and facts needed to engage in this industry.

Fieldwork Position Overview: A student will support the Cannabis Equity Project (an initiative derived from Marcus Meets Malcolm and other Harlem-based CBOs) via attendance and presentation at community members and events, creation of engaging digital media and social media content to share information about cannabis, and spearheading data and research-focused projects to understand community preferences and the impact of cannabis policy on Harlem.

This is a fieldwork position, totaling 180 hours from August – December 2022. (~10 hours/week) The position will conclude at the close of the CUNY SPH Fall semester.

Fieldwork Responsibilities:

Communicate and collaborate with community organizations, elected officials, city agencies, SPH faculty, and other relevant stakeholders
Assist with the development and presentation for monthly community meetings
Facilitate monthly community meetings
Create digital materials surrounding health equity & cannabis
Create engaging social media content
Other activities as assigned by supervisor

Qualifications:

Student at CUNY SPH in good academic standing
Strong writing skills and attention to detail
Strong time management skills
Interest (and experience preferred) in community outreach and engagement.

To apply, please email your resume and cover letter to Dr. Cheryl Smith at smithcas02@aol.com.

Relevant HPAM Concentration Competencies:

Identify and discuss the partnership and collaborative skills needed to develop effective public health programs and policies
Apply strategies for advocating for effective public health policies and programs

MMPCIA/ CUNY School of Public Health Internship Proposal:

POSITION: Fall ’22 Fieldwork Placement

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Mt. Morris Park Community Improvement Association,(MMPCIA), a 41-year-old not-for-profit volunteer community association, was established to bring residents, businesses, and churches together to confront the challenges that were negatively impacting the community’s quality of life. Our efforts also focus on honoring and celebrating the long-standing Harlem Black culture, while at the same time embracing the growth and positive changes.

Through the decades, there have been many gains including better public services, improved housing stock and a reduction in crime. However, during the COVID pandemic many of the remaining underlying issues returned to the surface. Some of those include the limited availability of affordable housing, health and mental health services and the overabundance of drug treatment and homeless shelters within a small geographic area. Last year we witnessed an explosion of illegal drug activities, large numbers of people in distress roaming the streets, and often using the streets to ingest drugs and other inappropriate and dangerous behavior. Crime rates rose, residents, workers and visitors to the community became overwhelmed and fearful. Businesses closed and our community began to feel like a battle zone. MMPCIA works closely with the NYPD, elected and government officials, churches, business, and other community organizations to identify both causes and solutions.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Data Collection, Analysis, and Report:

To better prepare and advocate for changes, communicate with the community, speak effectively with the media, and identify funding needed to improve the quality-of-life, MMPCIA understands we need structured and professionally collected, actionable data. The student will help to develop the research question and to craft data collection methods. As we begin this discussion, we have two broad topics: who lives/works/visits in our catchment area (through gathering existing data) and what are their views and collective feelings about the impact current conditions have on their sense of wellbeing, (health/mental health, safety, happiness, fear, desire to remain in the community). Questions we have, based on stories and experiences shared in our enter action with our members include: What are your biggest concerns? What is good about the community? What keeps you here? To what degree do your concerns impact your sense of wellbeing? How do you see MMPCIA impacting change? How do you define social services? What social services are in the catchment area? What is your perception of the state of drug treatment facilities in Harlem? This is not an exhaustive list, and we look to the intern to help frame questions and identify data collection methods to help us reach our objectives.

The fieldwork student may have the opportunity to help develop a realistic program agenda with short- and long-range goals; determine any MMPCIA structural/organization changes needed to address the current climate and community conditions as we continue to organize and activate community engagement.

This fieldwork opportunity will be largely remote with occasional in-person meetings.

QUALIFICATIONS:

Student at CUNY SPH in good academic standing
Experience in data collection and analysis
Self-motivated and great attention to detail
Comfort working with community

TO APPLY: Please send a resume and cover letter to info@mmpcia.org, include CUNY SPH in subject line.

Submitted by: Madlyn Stokely, President
Mt Morris Park Community Improvement Association (MMPCIA)

POSITION: Internship (Fall 2022)

ORGANIZATION: JCCA

JCCA Medical Department

The JCCA medical program serves infants, children, adolescents and young adults in foster care. Our medical team aims to prevent, detect, and manage any physical, emotional, social, or developmental issue that may arise from birth to adulthood for our pediatric clients while addressing the additional health challenges faced by children in foster care. Our medical providers play a critical role in the routine care of our JCCA clients by:

Performing age-appropriate health screening
Diagnosing and treating acute and chronic illnesses, injuries, and other disorders that affect children
Ensuring that children are achieving developmental milestones
Performing evaluations to detect developmental or behavioral disorders (e.g., autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) and developing care plans to address these problems
Educating parents/caregivers about well-child care, including immunizations, and counseling parents/caregivers about all aspects of their child’s health
Working with parents/caregivers to foster healthy lifestyles
Advocating for the welfare of children, educating those involved in the care of children, and effectively communicating with parents/caregivers, other physicians, teachers, and social workers on issues of child welfare

Our medical team devotes their clinical practice to the broad scope of pediatrics rather than one area within the medical specialty while collaborating with pediatric subspecialists who are experts in one area of pediatrics. Our program is a medical home for the children of JCCA allowing us to coordinate and integrate all of the vital multi-disciplinary services our children receive including mental health, social work support and care management. If a child is treated by a pediatric subspecialist or is hospitalized, the JCCA medical team remains a vital part of the care team through bidirectional communication with the treating institution or provider(s).

Overview of Internship: The intern will attend program meetings and any other meetings and trainings that are of interest. There may be additional, smaller projects that arise as needed; however, the following are projects the student may work on.

Assist in creating educational tools for our foster parents and youth.
Assist with outreach to community organizations and providers.
Locate resources and providers in the community, especially in lesser served communities, for our members.

Supervisor: Dina Cicillini RN, Vice President, Clinical Operations, cicillinid@jccany.org

Hours: 8-10 hours per week should be sufficient.

Location: Office-based internship located at 555 Bergen Avenue in the Bronx with opportunity for some work to be done remotely. Intern should come to the office 1 time per week. Meet in person a minimum of 1 time a month.

To Apply: Students who are interested in applying, send an email with your resume to Hannah Stuart Lathan at hannah.lathan@sph.cuny.edu.

POSITION: Fall 2022 Research Fieldwork Opportunity

ORGANIZATION: Easy Water for Everyone

PROJECT DESCRIPTION: The org has a well-established water purification program in Ghana, Uganda and Senegal operating and provide clean(ed) water to almost 15k villagers in rural areas. We are interested to work with a student on a systematic review and meta-analysis – both aspects (literature search and meta-analysis) will require coding skills and understanding on epidemiologic data and literature. We are a small non-profit organization consisting of a motivated and enthusiastic group of analytically inclined research professionals. This could be a wonderful contribution to the topic of water purification in remote areas with limited resources. We have a large amount of public health data at our disposition, have a great interest in the envisioned meta-analysis, and believe this paper could be an important contribution to the literature.

TO APPLY:

Email Jochen G. Raimann, MD, PhD, MPH, Director, Data Analytics | Renal Research Institute at Jochen.Raimann@RRINY.COM

POSITION: Health Policy Intern

ORGANIZATION: Office of Child & Family Health (OCFH) /NYC ACS

The Office of Child & Family Health (OCFH) is charged with ensuring that all children in the care of the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) have access to physical and mental/behavioral health care that is comprehensive, appropriate and in line with current best practice standards. OCFH delivers direct medical services to children entering foster care, offers individual case consultations, technical assistance and training to ACS staff and foster care agencies on a variety of health-related topics, conducts research and performance assessments, and provides clinical expertise in developing health and mental health policies that support best case practice.

The Health Policy Intern will be a part of the OCFH team and engage in health policy work. She/he/they will work under the Director of Health Policy and Planning.

Responsibilities may include:

Conducting and reporting findings from literature reviews for projects related to child and adolescent health;
Updating health assessment tools and forms;
Reviewing, and updating ACS medical and mental health policy and procedure manuals;
Participating in agency-wide meetings, committees and workgroups to ensure that health care issues are incorporated into internal program design and policy development;
Supporting health policy and program development initiatives;
Performing other related duties, as appropriate.

Primary Location:

150 William Street, New York, New York 10038 but you should have the ability to work remotely.

Candidate Requirements:

Graduate student with interest in and knowledge of health policy, child health, Medicaid policy, and/or adolescent sexual and reproductive health;
Strong analytical, writing and communication skills;
Ability to multitask while maintaining strong attention to detail;
Ability to take initiative and work independently;
Experience using Microsoft Office software, including: Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint;
Time limited with an average of 8-10 hours per week

This position is unpaid, school credit and flexible hours may be available. Internship may be used as a fieldwork placement and/or practicum.

To Apply: Please email your cover letter and resume to Bianca Lopez, Director of Health Policy and Planning, Bianca.Lopez@acs.nyc.gov

POSITION: Fall 2022 Research Fieldwork Opportunity

ORGANIZATION: MONDO (Monitoring Dialysis Outcomes) Initiative at Renal Research Institute

PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

With chronic kidney disease being an increasing problem in public health and the outcomes in the dialysis population unfortunately remaining poor, MONDO Initiative’s work aims to contribute to the understanding of disease and outcome dynamics with the potential to change practice patterns internationally on a large scale. Of note – at this point only two international databases of comparable size and diversity exist and MONDO’s database is the only one word-wide allowing for longitudinal analysis covering the dimensions of clinical and demographic parameters, technological data ranging from dialysis machine to body composition assessments using bioimpedance, and outcomes, at this remarkably high granularity with close to 50 million record entries. Fieldwork students will learn a lot about dialysis, the medical background of chronic kidney disease, and what predicts outcomes. Students will further get a first idea of big data analytics and advanced statistical methodologies.

The range of projects currently in the pipeline for which MONDO seeks fieldwork students ranges from studies of pathophysiologic dynamics, body composition studies and outcome studies using our rich dataset. We have a wide range of expertise on our team and are experienced mentors with a great interest to further our projects, but at the same time make this an inspiring educational experience. The support will comprise remote and in-person meetings, teaching of R programming in a Citrix-server based remote virtual environment (comparable with an AWS EC2 VDI) and is planned to result in (at least) one publication which the student will be a coauthor of and receive the deserved credit. Use of the data in the form of a Capstone or master’s essay is encouraged and Dr. Raimann will be acting in a supporting role to this endeavor. Requirements are good knowledge in epidemiology and biostatistics, and good coding skills in either R or Python.

For more information, view Dr. Raimann’s presentation on MONDO: The international MONitoring Dialysis Outcomes (MONDO) database initiative

TO APPLY:

Email Jochen G. Raimann, MD, PhD, MPH, Director, Data Analytics | Renal Research Institute at Jochen.Raimann@RRINY.COM