Rhode Island Public Health Institute: New England Public Health Training Center Health Equity Internship

Position Title: New England Public Health Training Center Health Equity Internship 

Reports To: Director of Evaluation 

Post Date: December 2023 

This internship is sponsored by the New England Public Health Training Center (NEPHTC). If accepted by both the Rhode Island Public Health Institute (RIPHI) and NEPHTC, the student will receive a $3,500 stipend for this internship which is paid through NEPHTC. Students will submit their application to RIPHI first. If the student is selected for this internship, they will then apply to NEPHTC to receive the stipend. Applicants must be the requirements for the NEPHTC which can be found HERE  

Students should submit their application to RIPHI HERE  

THE RHODE ISLAND PUBLIC HEALTH INSTITUTE 

The Rhode Island Public Health Institute (RIPHI) is the host organization for this internship. RIPHI is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to reduce health disparities in Rhode Island and beyond. RIPHI oversees public health programs, conducts translational and policy research, and trains students and public health practitioners. In recent years, RIPHI’s programs have attracted local and national media attention as well as local and national awards for public health innovation. RIPHI owns and operates Open Door Health, the state’s first and only LGBTQ+ clinic; Open Door Health provides primary care, sexual health care, family planning services, and gender affirming care to Rhode Island’s diverse community. Open Door Health also hosts the state’s only Express STI Clinic, where patients can walk in and receive STI screening services in 30 minutes or less. RIPHI hosts a large Ryan White HIV treatment and care program at Open Door Health.  

In addition, RIPHI operates Food on the Move, a year-round mobile produce market serving senior public housing sites in the urban core. RIPHI leads Nourish Rhode Island, a coalition advocating for SNAP incentives in grocery stores to promote healthy eating among SNAP recipients. During the 2022 legislation session, the NOURISH RI coalition secured an $11.5 million state appropriation for the Department of Human Services to fund a statewide retail SNAP incentive program, named the Eat Well, Be Well Rewards program (EWBW). RIPHI leads a citywide clinical collaborative to promote COVID-19 testing and vaccination equity among the city’s largest safety net health centers. In coming years, RIPHI will also support innovations in harm reduction centers as the state legalizes harm reduction services and safe injection sites. RIPHI’s rapid and currently growing portfolio also includes programs related to healthy food access, hepatitis C virus (HCV), HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), pre- exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to reduce HIV transmission, geographically focused health interventions, and other efforts to reduce health disparities. To learn more about RIPHI and Open Door Health, visit https://www.riphi.org and www.odhpvd.org. 

Position Summary: 

This internship will provide opportunities for the student to gain hands on experience in real world public health work based in community settings. There will be four main components of this internship: 

1.) Programmatic Experience at Food on the Move (FOTM): The student will work alongside the FOTM market operations coordinator and team to run the operations of the Food on the Move program. This includes enrolling customers in our loyalty card program enabling us to track their purchase level data, conducting a small-scale qualitative evaluation with our customers, loading and stocking produce and operating the point-of-sale system. The student will learn the details of running a community based public health program in the field.  

2.) Data collection for the EWBW rewards program: Students will gain firsthand experience collecting survey data in the field. RIPHI has been contracted by the RI Department of Human Services to lead the evaluation of the EWBW rewards program. For this evaluation, RIPHI is conducting surveys with customers at all 27 Stop ‘n’ Shop locations in Rhode Island. The student will travel with the team to these stores to administer these services. The student will be trained in how to survey, they will complete their CITI training certification and they will learn how to use the Redcap program to conduct a survey. 

3.) Data entry for the EWBW rewards program: After the surveys are completed, there will be extensive data entry from the grocery receipts that will need to be entered into Redcap. The intern will be trained in these data entry procedures and learn the importance of data organization and the impacts it has on the analysis for the evaluation.  

Internship Requirements: 

The individual must speak Spanish  

Must have reliable transportation to community settings throughout the state 

Must be an undergraduate or graduate student in a public health concentration 

Excellent time-management skills and ability to prioritize workflows 

Experience working in a community setting 

Must be able to respond to constructive criticism and feedback from supervisor 

Appreciation of RIPHI’s mission and the goals of the Food Access division 

Willingness to perform market operations including set up and tear down 

Highly organized and strong attention to detail 

Excellent written and verbal communication skills and comfortable speaking in public situations 

Experience conducting interviews or working on community data collection efforts preferred 

Ability to work well on a team 

In the wake of COVID – 19, RIPHI has implemented many protocols to ensure the safety of our staff and the various populations we serve. You must be willing to learn and adhere to all safety protocols and you must be up to date with your COVID-19 vaccines.  

 Physical Demands: 

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to stand on your feet for extended period of time; walk; sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands; balance, stoop, kneel or crouch: and talk or hear. The employee must be able to carry computer equipment, office supplies, folding chairs, produce boxes, and folding tables. 

Rhode Island Public Health Institute is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage diverse candidates to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, gender identity, expression or preference, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, socio-economic status or any other characteristic protected by law.