Community Health Data Internship, Summer 2015
Background: The New Orleans Health Department (NOHD) aims to prevent chronic disease and promote healthy behaviors through its healthy lifestyles program focus area and Fit NOLA initiative. A mayoral initiative, Fit NOLA brings together 200 organizational partners in a collective impact project to promote physical activity and healthy eating in order to make New Orleans one of our nation’s fittest cities.
As a nationally-accredited health department, NOHD has the important role of compiling, summarizing and sharing health data to inform health promotion initiatives. In 2013, NOHD developed a community health data profile describing available data around healthy lifestyles and healthy behaviors. This includes information on obesity and chronic disease rates, physical activity patterns, eating patterns, physical environment characteristics such as availability of healthy food, and analysis of trends. As that is now two years old, there is a need to update the data profile. The updated data profile will be shared on NOHD’s website, distributed to the Fit NOLA partnership including city government officials, and distributed to the public. NOHD staff and Tulane Prevention Research Center staff will be available to provide check-ins and guidance to the intern over the course of the project.
Duties: The intern will be responsible for updating NOHD’s Healthy Lifestyle Community Health Data Profile using publicly available databases (such as BRFSS) and relevant literature.
The intern may also be asked to assist with compiling and presenting data in the form of PowerPoint presentations. If interested, the student may also attend project-related meetings and events.
If the intern completes all tasks related to the Healthy Lifestyle Community Health Data Profile and is interested in making additional contributions, the intern will have the opportunity to help revise NOHD’s Health Disparities Community Health Data Profile and/or contribute to the development of a data profile on a new topic.
Skills required: Strong epidemiology / data analysis skills and writing skills
Location: New Orleans Health Department, City Hall, 1300 Perdido St. Suite 8E18. This work can also be done off-site if preferred.
Timeline: Summer 2015
To apply: Send resume and cover letter to:
Katherine L. Cain
City of New Orleans Health Department
klcain@nola.gov
