Homicide Sentinel Surveillance Fellowship - Graduates - CDC
Description:
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Early submission are strongly encouraged, as a selection could be made before the application deadline.
A research opportunity is currently available with the Division of Violence Prevention (DVP) within the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Violence is a serious public health problem, affecting people throughout the life course. Through its programs and initiatives, DVP supports national organizations, state and local health agencies, and other partners to develop, implement, and promote effective violence prevention and control practices. DVP’s strategic priorities are to:
- Increase the number of people exposed to prevention strategies proven to reduce violence
- Reduce adverse childhood experiences (ACEs)
- Expand understanding of how to prevent firearm-related injuries and deaths
This fellowship opportunity involves the fellow gaining experience with assessing the feasibility of homicide sentinel surveillance, an area of inquiry of DVP’s Surveillance Branch.
Regarding current nationwide homicide surveillance, DVP’s Surveillance Branch operates the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS). NVDRS is a system that collects information on all manners of violent deaths — including suicides and homicides — in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. NVDRS covers deaths in all settings and for all age groups. NVDRS includes data from the death certificate, coroner and medical examiner reports as well as law enforcement reports on over 600 unique data elements, including circumstance data that provide valuable context about violent deaths such as relationship problems; mental health problems and treatment; toxicology results; and life stressors, including recent problems with a job, finances, or physical health problems. Extensive information about the incidents, such as weapons used, characteristics of suspects, and locations where they occurred are included. Such data are far more comprehensive than what is available elsewhere. NVDRS is the only state-based surveillance (reporting) system that pools data on violent deaths from multiple sources into a usable, anonymous database.
Nevertheless, there is a gap in the surveillance of firearm homicides. Law enforcement data lags the other sources included in the NVDRS as these data can be harder and take longer to abstract. Some law enforcement agencies in some states require cases to be adjudicated (which can take years) before data are shared with the system. As a result, routine NVDRS data take approximately two years after the close of the data year to be made available to the public.
It is possible to complement this valuable data source with more timely data currently available on homicides. DVP would like to explore the potential of a sentinel surveillance system made up of a set of cities and rural areas across the country to gather publicly available data on homicides in order to obtain more timely data for informing local decision making. The data have the potential to provide early awareness of emerging trends in homicide.
This training opportunity involves learning experiences for the participant relevant to homicide surveillance. Under the guidance of a mentor and in collaboration with the NCIPC Offices of Strategy and Innovation and Informatics, the participant will:
- Learn about the National Violence Death Reporting System and other violence-related surveillance systems
- Develop expertise in firearm injury and homicide epidemiology and surveillance
- Assess how sentinel surveillance is conducted
- Identify existing gaps and opportunities in the collection and timely reporting of firearm-related homicides
- Explore and analyze the benefits and limitations of sentinel surveillance for homicide surveillance
- Conduct an environmental scan of available data sources on firearm homicides
- Assess the availability of data at local and state levels for homicide sentinel surveillance through scrubbing and other techniques using statistical analyses and computer programming in R or Python programming languages
- Develop a report on the feasibility of such a sentinel surveillance system
- Practice oral presentation skills by presenting to colleagues from the Surveillance Branch, the Division of Violence Prevention, and the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control
- Participate in Division and NCIPC workgroups
- Collaborate with key stakeholders in NCIPC and among CDC’s partners
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: September 1, 2021; start date is flexible
This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and CDC. The initial appointment can be up to one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of CDC contingent on the availability of funds. The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. The appointment is full-time at CDC in the Atlanta, Georgia, area. Participants do not become employees of CDC, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits.
Additional Details:Skills/Eligibility:The qualified candidate should have received a master’s or doctoral degree in one of the relevant fields, or be currently pursuing a doctoral degree. Degree must have been received within the past five years.
Preferred skills:
- Background in surveillance, data collection, data management, data synthesis and data science
- Strong programming skillset, ideally with programming in R or Python
- Experience with or strong interest in the topic areas of violence, homicide, or firearm injury
- Exceptional oral and written communication skills are essential for interactions with stakeholders at the national and/or state and local levels
- Demonstrated evidence of exceptional oral and written communication skills (e.g., papers, manuscripts, presentations)
- Ability to facilitate collaboration and feedback (e.g., conducting meetings, synthesizing and compiling information for reports or briefings)
Candidates must also be willing to travel and have a valid driver’s license or other identification and documentation required for travel within the U.S.
- Degree: Master’s Degree or Doctoral Degree.
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A complete application consists of:
- An application
- Transcripts – Click here for detailed information about acceptable transcripts
- A current resume/CV, including academic history, employment history, relevant experiences, and publication list
- One educational or professional recommendation. Your application will be considered incomplete, and will not be reviewed until one recommendation is submitted.
All documents must be in English or include an official English translation.
If you have questions, send an email to ORISE.CDC.NCIPC@orau.org. Please include the reference code for this opportunity in your email.