Note: Please visit DPH Paid Internship Program for program details, timeline, and application deadline. You will have a chance to share which project(s) you are interested when you submit the application online.
Project: Spatial Analysis of Breast Cancer Incidence and Staging and Mammography Facility Distribution in Massachusetts Communities
Organization: Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health
The intern will be working on a project that focuses on identifying potential health inequities in Massachusetts. More specifically, the intern will analyze breast cancer incidence and staging in relation to distance from mammography facilities to explore an aspect of healthcare access.
The findings from this project will reveal whether there are geographic gaps in access to mammography facilities in Massachusetts and whether such gaps in distribution appear to have an impact on breast cancer diagnosis and staging. The student may also take part in evaluating population characteristics (e.g. race, ethnicity, income) of areas with and without easy access to mammography facilities. The availability of data on mobile mammography centers will also be explored.
In addition to working with data to conduct epidemiologic and spatial analyses, the intern will also have the opportunity to draft visual and written reports, create a presentation of their findings, and propose potential recommendations for next steps while working closely with Environmental Epidemiology Program staff.
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The intern will gain exposure to state-level public health work, epidemiologic analysis of real health outcomes data in MA, GIS mapping tools, and experience preparing written and oral communication materials.
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The intern will learn about and be able to identify Environmental Justice communities and vulnerable health populations in MA.
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The intern will calculate observed and expected breast cancer diagnoses to produce standardized incidence rates (SIRs) for MA communities, and gain knowledge about breast cancer staging, primary site and histology coding, and risk factors.
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The intern will become familiar with the Massachusetts Environmental Public Health Tracking portal, the Massachusetts Cancer Registry, and breadth of work within the Bureau of Climate and Environmental Health at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
Skills Required: Experience with MS Excel, PowerPoint, Word; Data analysis skills, including the ability to calculate age-adjusted, crude, and age/sex-specific rates of disease; Basic understanding of statistical measures of association; Strong writing and communication skills; Ability to apply epidemiologic principles to interpret results and draw conclusions; Experience with ArcGIS a plus
Suggested Majors: Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Public Health, Health Sciences
Technology Required: Laptop
Work Arrangement: Hybrid, In-person
Hours Per Week: 10-20
Preferred Eligibility: Masters and or Doctoral students
Preferred Academic Experience: Epidemiology, Environmental Health, Public Health, Health Sciences
For more information, please check out Program FAQs. You can also contact us by email dphinternship@mass.gov.