Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey Analyses
State: ME

Skill Area: Data Analysis and Monitoring

Internship summary
The internship will be housed in the Maine CDC’s MCH Epidemiology group within the Division of Family Health. The Maine CDC is Maine's state health department. The MCH Epi group is part of a team of 6 epidemiologists that support the Divisions of Chronic Disease and Family Health within the Maine CDC. The programs within the Division of Family Health include: Children with Special Health Needs, Teen and Young Adult Health, Injury and Suicide Prevention, WIC, Public Health Nursing, and Women’s Health.

Purpose
The purpose of this internship is to increase the understanding of child and adolescent health in Maine through the analysis of data from Maine's first comprehensive survey of youth.

Goals
The goal of this internship is to analyze data and disseminate data from Maine's new Integrated Youth Health Survey (MIYHS), a survey of over 70,000 elementary, middle and high school students. Over 200 questions were included in the survey, which has data available at the state, county, and school level.

Objectives
1. Conduct analyses using SAS and SUDAAN on a school based survey of health. Topics of analyses will be selected by the intern in collaboration with mentors. Possible topics could include: adolescent violence, obesity/overweight, adolescent sexuality, childhood asthma, and adolescent self-injury.
2. Create 1-2 fact sheets with data at the state and health district level for distribution to partners.
3. Present findings to Division of Family Health staff and Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey steering committee (optional).

Data or analytic tasks and activities involved
This intern will develop an analytic plan and analyze survey data using SAS and SUDAAN statistical software. Analytic methods will include frequencies and cross-tabs; higher level statistics may be possible, but are not required. After completing the analyses, results will be translated into charts and graphs with explanatory text to communicate results to the general public.

Required data or analytic skills
Requires completion of at least one course in statistics and one course in epidemiology and experience in statistical programming. SAS programming experience is preferred but not required. Also requires experience using Microsoft excel and word. This is a great opportunity for students interested in survey design and analyses and those looking for experience in complex surveys analysis methods.

Begin date
06/01/2010

Housing assistance available?
We can provide the names of property management and rental companies.

Public transportation available?
Although public transportation is limited in Maine, many state employees carpool to work. However, having a car is recommended.

More information
The attachment is a brief set of slides on the Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey.
Maine is a beautiful place to spend the summer with many activities to enjoy. We have hosted several MCHB graduate student interns in the past and would be happy to provide their contact information for those interested in learning more about working at the Maine CDC.

Attachments