Graduate Student Internship Program

2009 Catalog of Internship Opportunities

MCH Epidemiologist intern

City of Laredo Health Department, Maternal Child Health, Laredo, TX
Skill Areas: Data Analysis and Monitoring, Needs Assessment, Program Evaluation

Agency Information

The department's service area includes the City of Laredo in Webb County, Texas which sits along the middle of the long border between Texas and Mexico, and is divided by the Rio Grande River. The City of Laredo Health Department is a department of the city but services the residents of Webb County through an Inter-local agreement.

It employs approximately 200 professional and paraprofessional employees. The health department provides services to Medicaid, Medicare private insured and self-pay clients. The department has a well established, long standing record of coordination and cooperation with many community agencies in further developing, maintaining and delivering needed health care to the community. The Maternal and Child health program provides perinatal care services to high-risk pregnant women through programs such as CHIP-Perinate and Department of State Health services Title V programs. The top five Maternal/Child health indicators for the Texas Border region are: Infant Mortality Rate, Child Mortality Rate, Prenatal Care in the first trimester, Low Birth Rate, and Teen Pregnancy and Congenital Anomalies – specifically Neural tube defects. Our agency studies, evaluates and has a good surveillance system focused on these health indicators. The data sources to be used will include data in the Department's MIS system and city and county vital statistics records, which are part of the Health Department.

The integrated delivery system at the department includes primary care, immunizations for childhood and adult vaccine preventable diseases, HIV/AIDS counseling, testing, referrals, case management and housing assistance, class D pharmacy, and laboratory diagnostic services in addition to the prenatal, and family planning services.

Purpose, goals, and objectives of internship

Intern will be compiling a community needs assessment by systematically gathering data, providing a comprehensive analysis of the needs, evaluating resources available and projecting trends that would require alignment of resources in view of funding constraints, and manpower needs as the area continues to grow. Intern and staff will prepare a 5-year plan with short- and long-term goals and objectives to continue to maintain and expand the Webb County health infrastructure based on a valid quantitative report. The intern will collect data, analyze and predict maternal/child health indicator deficiencies within our community and provide intervention, prevention and education strategies. Teen pregnancies, low birth weight, number of infant deaths, and late entry into care will be targeted as indicators to analyze. The department has access to hospital records as a health department in conducting surveillance for congenital anomalies and communicable diseases which would enhance the compiling of information for research.

Data or analytic tasks and activities

Student will design a data gathering questionnaire for the needs assessment, translate instrument to Spanish, pilot the questionnaire, retool the instrument and implementation of questionnaire. Data analysis will be done as to community needs, resources available and identification of gaps to advocate for resources necessary to complement existing programs with out duplication of services.

Data or analytic skills required

The following software and the skills to utilize such in order to perform task will be required: Excel software with the data analysis tool pack and Microsoft office work software would be required and are locally available. Spanish language skills are not required but would be a plus.

Supervisors

Hector F. Gonzalez, MD, MPH, Health Department Director and Waldo Lopez, MPH, Chief of Disease Control and Epidemiology and Gloria R. Pena, R.N., Chief of Patient Care services.

Internship begins

May or June

Housing

Laredo Community College, Texas A&M International University or the University of Texas Area Health Education Center dorms may be available.

Transportation

Public transportation will be available.

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