Practicum/internship opportunity for MPH or MPH/MSW students
Introduction:
The CDC funded National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Program (NHBS) run by Crescent Care (NO/AIDS Task Force) in New Orleans is accepting applications for an internship with the NHBS research team. Interns will have the opportunity to participate in large-scale HIV behavioral research focusing in 2017 on men who have sex with men (MSM) in the New Orleans Metropolitan Statistical Area.
About NHBS:
NHBS is a CDC funded national surveillance system which takes place in 20 cities around the U.S. It was developed by the CDC in 2003, to address the ongoing national HIV epidemic. NHBS data are used to provide a behavioral context for trends seen in HIV surveillance data, give an indication of the impact of the epidemic, gauging the effects of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which focuses on decreasing HIV incidence, improving linkage to care, and reducing disparities. Findings are used at state and local levels to assess key characteristics and changing aspects of epidemic locally and to support the development of effective prevention programs that are tailored to the needs of the local population. Surveillance is conducted in rotating annual cycles in three different populations at high risk for HIV: men who have sex with men (MSM), injection drug users (IDUs), and heterosexuals at increased risk for HIV infection (HET). Before each NHBS cycle, formative research is conducted to learn more about the populations and collect data to help with sampling procedures. MSM are sampled using venue-based, time-space sampling methods. NHBS staff first identify venues frequented by MSM (e.g., bars, clubs, organizations, and street locations) and days and times when men frequent those venues. Venues (and specific day/time periods) for recruitment are chosen randomly each month. IDUs and heterosexuals are recruited using respondent-driven sampling, a type of chain referral sampling. NHBS staff members select a small number of initial participants, or “seeds,” who complete the survey and recruit their peers to participate. Recruitment and interviewing continue until the target sample size is reached (source: https://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/systems/nhbs/).
Project duties:
Interns will join a research team during the formative and primary data collection stages of the MSM cycle. They will conduct:
* Ethnographic research (Observations, brief street intercepts, key informant interviews, focus groups)
* In-depth interviews (open ended, semi-structured, and hour long surveys)
* HIV and HCV counseling, testing, and referrals (CTR)
Requirements:
* Able to work with people from various socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds
* Comfortable with conducting interviews that focus on drug use history, sexual behavior, and other HIV risk behaviors
* Willing to undergo HIV and HCV counseling and testing training, using fingerstick testing
* Available through completion of the cycle or substantial portion of primary data collection (expected date of completion: December 2017)
Opportunities:
This internship is an opportunity to support a national research project and learn skills in large-scale data collection in the field of public health. If not already CTR certified, interns will be trained in HIV testing and counseling. Upon completion of this practicum, interns will have gained experience in: field observations, key informant interviews, focus group interviews, primary data collection, large datasets, field based data collection, and uses of surveillance data to inform HIV programs and policies. Interns will also be given the opportunity to use the data collected for their own conference papers, publications, theses, etc. Previous interns have a track record of success. Since their time with NHBS, they have continued on to PhD programs, medical schools, CDC careers, and applied jobs in public health in New Orleans and around the world.
To apply: Please send a cover letter and resume to narquis.barak@crescentcarehealth.org by April 1, 2017.
