WA - Children (Children with Special Needs and Youth with Disability Data Analysis Project)
State: WA

Skill Area: Data Analysis and Monitoring

Internship summary
The internship project will be housed in the Maternal Child Health (MCH) section of Community and Family Health, Washington State Department of Health (DOH). The MCH Program works to promote an environment that supports and encourages the optimal health of all women of childbearing age, infants, children, adolescents and their families. MCH has 5 major program areas: Children with Special Health Care Needs, Child and Adolescent Health, Maternal and Infant Health, Genetics, and Immunizations. The intern will be located within the MCH Assessment Section, which provides assessment services to all 4 areas.

Purpose
The Data Monographs are a series of short data reports on specific Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) and disability topics. The purpose of these monographs is to provide relevant, state-level data to the CSHCN Program, other Department of Health programs, and their stakeholders. Information from previous Data Monographs has been shared with policy makers, state work-groups, and other stakeholders. The Data Monographs often work in tandem with pertinent issues around health care policy.

Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs Report is a comprehensive report provided to county CSHCN programs. The last report was completed in 2005. This report includes some state data, with the majority of data being county-level. A new addition to the 2010 report will be county-level Healthy Youth Survey data on youth with disabilities.

Goals
1) Analyze data and present findings in a 3-5 page Data Monograph.
2) Analyze and provide Healthy Youth Survey data for the 2010 Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs report.

Objectives
1) Using Washington State Healthy Youth Survey, National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, or National Survey of Children’s Health data, analyze, interpret, and write a 3-5 page data monograph on a disability or CSHCN-related topic. The topic will be determined based on program need and the intern’s interest. Draft a dissemination plan for the monograph.

2) Analyze and provide state and county-level Healthy Youth Survey data for the 2010 Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs report.

Data or analytic tasks and activities involved
The Children with Special Needs and Youth with Disability Data Analysis Project requires the development of an analytic plan and the analysis and interpretation of data from Healthy Youth survey, National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, or National Survey of Children’s Health.

Required data or analytic skills
1) Ability to analyze and interpret data. Familiarity with multi-variate logistic regression is preferred
2) Graduate classes in epidemiology and statistics.
3) Basic skills in analytic software such as Stata.
4) Basic skills in using Microsoft Word and Excel.

Begin date
06/01/2010

Housing assistance available?
There are many apartment complexes and housing options in Olympia. Information on these resources can be provided to the intern.

Public transportation available?
The worksite is accessible via public transportation.

More information
The 2005 CSHCN is available on line:
http://www.doh.wa.gov/cfh/mch/cshcn_WAdata.htm