Monitoring & Evaluation Intern Dottapan Doula Fellowship

Monitoring & Evaluation Intern - Dottapan Doula Fellowship

Concept: The maternal health landscape in Massachusetts is evolving with MassHealth’s recent move to cover doula services through pregnancy, delivery, and the first year of the infant’s life. This shift has significantly changed access to doula services. In response, DotHouse Health, Codman Square Health Center, and Mattapan Community Health Center have received funding from Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health to launch a doula fellowship program aimed at supporting its vulnerable pregnant population in Dorchester and Mattapan. Over the next 2.5 years, we plan to develop a specialized curriculum that will enroll and financially support 20 community members to receive doula training, preceptorship and the opportunity to pursue additional certifications to train as community health workers and certified lactation consultants. We aim to recruit participants from the Dorchester and Mattapan communities to offer culturally congruent care for our health center’s diverse patient population.

To support a collaborative approach to fellowship design that aligns with patients’ needs and the Massachusetts-based doula community at large, we seek to conduct a landscape analysis to understand existing stakeholders and identify opportunities for collaboration. This analysis will explore the current landscape of doula services and how our fellowship can contribute to birth equity across the state. As part of the grant requirement, we will also need to conduct an evaluation of the fellowship program to assess its impact.

Role Summary

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented individual to support the launch and evaluation of the Dottapan Doula Fellowship. This position involves conducting a comprehensive landscape analysis of the Massachusetts doula community while simultaneously developing and implementing an evaluation framework for the Doula fellowship program. This is a hybrid role under the guidance of the fellowship program coordinator, designed for someone passionate about maternal health and health equity.

Key Responsibilities

1. Landscape Analysis of Doula Services in Massachusetts

• Complete a deep dive into the MA legislative decisions over the last five years regarding maternal health and equity, and outline how this stands to impact the provision of doula services (specifically, around doulas’ ability to bill for their services).
• Conduct informational interviews with members of the MA-based doula, and doula-adjacent community to map out the current stakeholders, their programs, and their projected workstreams, with specific focus on doula support for MA’s low-resource populations (including migrants).
• Conduct informational interviews with the Department of Public Health and the Boston Public Health Commission members working on doula related care to understand these organizations’ efforts to promote doula care and develop doula services.
• Present these findings to the programmatic leadership of DotHouse Health, Codman Square Health Center, and Mattapan Community Health Center as they prepare to launch the Doula Fellowship Program.

2. Program Evaluation

• Design an evaluation framework to assess the Doula Fellowship Program’s effectiveness in addressing maternal health disparities.
• Develop and pilot data collection tools, such as surveys and interview guides, for participants, patients and program leaders.
• Collect and analyze data on program outcomes, including participant progress, patient satisfaction, and community impact.
• Present evaluation findings and recommendations to program leadership to guide future program development.

Qualifications

● Currently pursuing or recently completed a degree in Public Health, Sociology, Social Work, or a related field.

● Experience conducting literature reviews and qualitative research.

● Familiarity with program evaluation methodologies and tools.

● Strong analytical skills, with the ability to collect and interpret qualitative and quantitative data.

● Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to create clear and compelling reports.

● Proficiency in tools such as Excel or similar programs.

● Interest in maternal health, health equity, and culturally congruent care.

Learning Objectives

● Gain hands-on experience conducting landscape analysis, program evaluation design and implementation.

● Enhance research, data analysis, and stakeholder engagement skills.

● Contribute to a transformative maternal health initiative designed to improve birth equity in underserved communities.

Start Date: Flexible, March 2025 this internship scheduled to be two to three months long with a possibility of extension 

Deliverable: A report in a format of the individual’s choosing that provides a comprehensive overview of the above outlined work, as well as a presentation made to participants attending the Doula Residency Program stakeholder meeting.

Compensation and Timeline

● Intern will receive an hourly stipend.

● The expected commitment is 10-12 hours per week for approximately three months, with the possibility of an extension.

Application Process: Please submit a resume, cover letter, and a brief statement of interest outlining your research and program evaluation experience, as well as your goals for the practicum to chioma.mbonu@dothousehealth.org. If you do not email with the following information above your application could not be considered. Then formally apply using this link. https://recruiting.paylocity.com/Recruiting/Jobs/Details/2298348