RESEARCH ASSISTANT INTERNSHIP IN HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AND HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES
RESEARCH ASSISTANT INTERNSHIP IN HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH AND HEALTHCARE DISPARITIES
Work Days: M-F; minimum 12 hours per week; work can be completed between the hours of 8am-7pm depending on the intern’s schedule and study needs. We prefer a one-year (can be one school year) commitment but are open to semester-long commitments, especially if interns can work intensively during certain times (e.g., Winter break, J-term, Spring Break, etc.).
Salary: This internship is unpaid.
Contact: Lee Cross at Lee.Cross@va.gov or via Handshake with cover letter, resume, and transcript.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- College junior or senior OR bachelor’s degree OR master’s degree
- Equivalent of at least one year of research experience (can be as part of academic requirements)
- Major in psychology, health services research, public health or related field
- Minimum G.P.A. of 3.0
- U.S. Citizen
DUTIES/RESPONSIBILITIES
The intern will act as a Research Assistant and asked to help with multiple studies within the Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research (CCDOR) at the Minneapolis VA Health Care System. The Research Assistant will have multiple responsibilities for all projects. He/she will be responsible for recruiting and scheduling research participants; conducting health assessments by telephone; mailing surveys; conducting literature reviews; scanning surveys; data entry and cleaning; assisting with manuscript, grant, and report preparation; medical chart reviews; observing focus groups; and completing other tasks as assigned.
STUDIES TO HELP WITH INCLUDE:
“Taking ACTION to Reduce Pain” is a 4-year disparities project funded by VA HSR&D – a trial aimed at promoting walking in African American patients with chronic pain, to improve pain outcomes (N=500).
“MARVEL” (Mindfulness Approaches to Reduce Veterans’ pain and Enhance Life) is a Department of Defense (DoD) funded study looking to reduce chronic musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and co-morbid conditions among Veterans, through scalable, non-pharmacologic, evidence-based strategies that are “Veteran-Centric,” designed to optimize Veteran engagement, adherence and sustainability. MARVEL is expected to result in two approaches for delivering non-pharmacological treatment for chronic pain—in this case, Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) that incorporate mobile application technology—that will be able to reach large numbers of Veterans. MARVEL also focuses on adapting interventions to fit the needs of women Veterans, a priority population that is at elevated risk for chronic MSK pain and mental health comorbidities, and would be the first study to have a sample large enough to be able to examine the effects of MBIs on women with chronic pain.