Maternal and Child Health Performance Measurement, Data Analysis, and Informatics Fellowship, Department of Health and Human Services

Research Project: HRSA’s Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) is seeking an ORISE Fellow to support the activities of MCHB and specifically the Office of Epidemiology and Research (OER).  The Fellow would be assigned to OER within the Division of Epidemiology (DE).  The mission of OER is to: 1) Build data capacity at the national, State and local levels; 2) Strengthen the present and future workforce in maternal and child health (MCH) epidemiology and research; 3) Support applied research to ensure that MCH initiatives are evidence-based and reflect the state-of-the-science; and 4) Disseminate information and strengthen the evidence base in MCH.

OER plays a central role in MCHB through its support for performance measurement, data analysis, research, and evaluation activities across the bureau. Specifically, OER/DE provides technical assistance and scientific consultation to all of MCHB’s divisions and offices across the life-course of program development, implementation, management, and performance assessment.

OER responsibilities associated with performance measurement and evaluation are varied and extensive, ranging from: oversight and management of the Discretionary Grants Information System which serves as the repository for performance data for all discretionary investments; analysis and reporting of program data to support program management and organizational goals; research, identification and specification of performance measures for investments throughout MCHB; data analysis, interpretation, and presentation of performance data for multiple audiences; oversight and technical guidance around the development of logic models; and expert review and support for evaluations throughout the Bureau.  The ORISE Fellow will be mentored by a team of scientists and analysts with expertise in data, informatics, performance measurement, program evaluation, and public health to observe, learn from, and apply analytic and methodological approaches within the parameters of “real life” programmatic and policy decision making processes.    

The ORISE Fellow will support MCHB and OER activities related to data management and analysis, performance measurement, and evaluation by providing technical assistance in three key areas:

1. Support the DGIS IT Investment Manager in building, testing, and improving self-service data access and analysis tools to more effectively display and communicate program impact across MCHB investments.
2. Support the MCHB Performance Measurement Lead, as well as staff throughout OER/DE, in the research, development, specification, and establishment of performance measures to support program tracking and evaluation for MCHB investments.
3. Provide technical assistance and data support to MCHB Divisions and Offices through data analysis, visualization, and related activities using software such as Tableau, SAS, and/or R.

Learning Objectives: The ORISE Fellow can expect to benefit from the following learning goals and objectives:

1. Gain first-hand exposure to and understanding of major maternal and child health investments supported by the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
2. Support research, analyses, and synthesis of performance measurement and/or evaluation data for major maternal and child health investments supported by the Federal Maternal and Child Health Bureau.
3. Gain experience in the day-to-day operation of a large IT system.
4. Refine data processing and analysis skills utilizing specialized software, to include Tableau, SAS, and/or R.
5. Gain first-hand exposure to and understanding of how Federal programs and policies are developed, implemented, and evaluated.
6. Refine and expand written and oral communicative skills and competencies.

Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Lydie Lebrun-Harris (lharris2 [at] hrsa [dot] gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).

For more information and to apply, click here.