Jobs with the Georgia Department of Public Health
Category : Student Opportunities
The Georgia Department of Public Health is looking for four students to work in the Epidemiology Section, Drug Overdose Surveillance Unit, on the growing opioid epidemic
Below is a description of the positions which are posted HERE. If you have questions, please contact Dr. Laura Edison (laura [dot] edison [at] dph [dot] ga [dot] gov).
1. The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is looking for a current MPH/MSPH student and two PhD students to assist in developing methods to determine areas in Georgia that are vulnerable to increased opioid-involved drug overdoses, and infectious disease outbreaks (HIV/Hepatitis) associated with injection drug use. This position will be working on a cooperative project between Emory University and DPH, and will work closely with Rollins School of Public Health Faculty and DPH Epidemiologists. The project goals are: to develop systematic small area estimates of county-level statistical summaries relevant to monitoring opioid use and abuse, to better estimate rates in counties with small numbers of overdoses, and to develop standardized analytic approaches for assessing urban-rural disparities in local statistical summaries monitoring opioid use and abuse. The project will expand to develop models for identifying vulnerable communities using a variety of data sources. Data management and analysis responsibilities will include using various databases, such as Excel, the Georgia electronic notifiable disease system, and statistical programs such as SAS and R. This is a one-year position that may be extended based on available funding.
The MPH/MSPH student will be employed for approximately 20 hours per week at a salary of $12/hr. The PhD students will be employed for approximately 20 hours per week at a salary of $15-18/hr. The schedule is flexible. The position could fulfill MPH practicum requirements. Student with a concentration in Biostatistics are preferred, but Epidemiology students with strong statistical skills will also be considered.
As part of the position the students will:
* Gain an understanding of data sources used to conduct disease and opioid overdose surveillance.
* Gain an understanding of data sources used to evaluate community health.
* Assist with the development of small area estimates to be able to estimate rates for small counts.
* Assist with the development of methods to determine urban-rural disparities.
* Create reports of findings.
2. The Georgia Department of Public Health is looking for a current MPH/MSPH student to assist in monitoring and improving Georgia’s syndromic surveillance for drug overdose-involved emergency department visits. The student will work with DPH Epidemiology staff from the Syndromic Surveillance Program and the Drug Overdose Surveillance Unit to conduct routine monitoring of surveillance data, weekly reporting of surveillance data, and improve data monitoring processes. Data management responsibilities will include using various databases, such as Excel, SAS, and the Georgia electronic notifiable disease system. This is a one-year position that may be extended based on available funding.
The student will be employed for approximately 20 hours per week at a salary of $12/hr. The schedule is flexible, and the student will be placed at the Department of Public Health offices in downtown Atlanta during normal business hours, and can perform some of the duties remotely. The position could fulfill MPH practicum requirements. Students with strong epidemiology skills and an interest in surveillance are preferred.
As part of a practicum experience, the student will:
* Gain an understanding of how syndromic surveillance functions.
* Review and revise weekly drug overdose surveillance monitoring protocols
* Review and revise and cluster analysis protocols
* Develop a drug overdose report template for communicating overdose clusters with Health Districts.
* Analyze disease surveillance data.
* Produce weekly surveillance reports.
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