Graduate Student Internship Program

2008 Catalog of Internship Opportunities

This internship has been filled.

Title V MCH Service Assessment Project

Program: Iowa Title V Maternal and Child Health (MCH) Services
Iowa Department of Public Health/Bureau of Family Health, Des Moines, IA
Skill Areas: Needs Assessment, Program Evaluation

Agency Information

The internship project will be housed in the Bureau of Family Health (BFH). In the BFH, the intern will be immersed in the hub of Iowa’s MCH Title V activities. Namely, the intern will play an integral role in preparing the Bureau to conduct its 2010 MCH Block Grant Needs assessment by examining of services that Local Public Health Agencies (LPHA) provide to the MCH Title V population. Through the “Title V MCH Service Assessment Project”, the intern will take a leadership role in assessing and promoting evidence-based Title V MCH services. The intern will also have the opportunity to collaborate with the Bureaus of Oral Health and Health Statistics, as these Bureaus contribute to Title V MCH Services. The BFH has a long history of welcoming and mentoring interns and students. Many interns return to the BFH as full-time, permanent employees. Through the Title V grant the BFH provides services to over 150,000 pregnant women, infants, children, and families in Iowa. Title V services are based on Iowa’s family health priorities and state and national performance measures. Other BFH programs include Perinatal and Maternal Health, Early Childhood Health, Child and Adolescent Health, Family Planning, Abstinence Education and Medicaid/ SCHIP outreach.

Purpose, goals, and objectives of internship

The project is entitled “Title V MCH Service Assessment Project.” The project’s purpose is to examine the depth and the breadth to which LPHAs address the Title V MCH Service Block Grant national and state performance measures. The project’s goal is to evaluate the ability of the LPHAs to address the national and state performance measures and to determine if the planned activities are based on empirical evidence and best practice. The project’s goals are to 1) to compare and contrast LPHA planned activities with the Title V MCH Service Block Grant state and national performance measures, 2) to identify strengths in addressing the performance measures, 3) to identify weaknesses in addressing the performance measures (i.e. not addressed or poorly addressed), 4) to make recommendations to assure that all performance measure are adequately addressed, 5) to prepare a synopsis for the Title V director, and (6) to prepare a report for the BFH, LPHA, and other stakeholders.

Data or analytic tasks and activities

• Review Title V Maternal and Child Health services provided by local public health agencies (LPHA), through out the state of Iowa.
• Document which National (NPM) and State Performance Measures(SPM) are being addressed by the various LPHA
• Document which NPM and SPM are NOT being addressed by the various LPHA
• Examine which LPHA activities, addressing NPM or SPM, are derived from evidence-based practices.
• Examine whether the activities address the NPM or SPM that the LPHA believes they are addressing.
• Build a database/spread sheet to use for data entry, data analysis, and ongoing surveillance of Title V services.
• Carry out data entry Conduct analysis Make recommendations to guide LPHA to write activities that address NPM or SPM and that are evidence based.
• Produce a synopsis and make recommendations that will guide the Title V Director in comprehensive needs assessment and strategic planning
• Prepare a report to be shared with BFH staff, LPHA, and other stakeholders
• Present the results to internal Title V staff and stakeholders.
• Prepare, submit, and present the results to a relevant national or regional conference.

Data or analytic skills required

The intern will produce primarily descriptive information as the result of this project. Therefore the intern will need to be comfortable examining and synthesizing information from a large cross-section of data sources. The intern will need to be comfortable creating and manipulating spread sheets in Excel.

Supervisors

Debra Kane, PhD, will be the intern's primary supervisor and will be available to guide and provide technical assistance to the intern. Dr. Kane is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention assignee to the IDPH, as an MCH Epidemiologist. Her role is to promote and improve the health and well-being of Iowa women, children, and families by building epidemiological and data capacity at the state level, to effectively use data to support public health action. She has over 15 years of public health experience at both the state and local level. In addition, she has over 5 years of experience in data analysis and interpretation, and data base management.

The intern's secondary supervisor will be Gretchen Hageman, MA. Ms. Hageman has worked at the Iowa Department of Public Health – Bureau of Family Health since 1999. She has served as the Title V coordinator for eight years and for the last five years has also served as the project director for Iowa’s Early Childhood Comprehensive System project. As the Title V coordinator, she has been instrumental in promoting strategic planning and the promotion of Iowa’s state and national performance at the department and local level.

Internship begins

The start date is negotiable. We anticipate the project will take from 12-14 weeks to
complete.

Housing

Yes, IDPH staff can assist the student in locating and securing housing. There are a variety of housing options available such as campus dorms and furnished apartments.

Transportation

The Lucas Building is accessible via public transportation.