AHRQ 2015 Summer Intramural Fellowship Program

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), a component of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), is soliciting applications for time-limited Fellowship opportunities.

Position Title: Junior Service Fellow (multiple positions)
Open Period: January 13, 2015 – January 27, 2015
Position Information: Temporary, Full Time, Not To Exceed 89 days
Salary Level: $25.24 per hour
Duty Location: Rockville, MD
Who May Apply: U.S Citizens

Job Summary

AHRQ, a component of the Department of Health and Human Services, is soliciting applications for time-limited Fellowship opportunities. AHRQ's mission is to produce evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable and to work with the HHS and other partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.

Fellowship Program Description

The AHRQ Intramural Fellowship Program provides opportunities for individuals to work with leading health services researchers in the conduct and support of research on “real life” issues that support the Agency's mission and contributes to improvements in health care. Fellows are also afforded the opportunity to work with administrative protocols, gain access to AHRQ-sponsored data sets, and apply statistical analysis methods to broaden the Fellow's understanding of health services research and the Agency' effect on the health care system.

Junior fellows are generally involved as part of a team responsible for conducting research and performing research-related activities. At this level, research studies generally have clear and specific objectives and involve investigations having a limited number of variables and self-directed work in planning and carrying out research activities.

Topics for research projects include:

Work with staff in the Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations on a project monitoring and understanding trends in children's behavioral/mental health using two AHRQ data sets: Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) and Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS).
Work with staff in the Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations on joint projects related to women's, maternal, children's, and gender health and research including but not limited to:
- Analyzing birth outcomes in relation to national early elective delivery trends with an emphasis on racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities leading to the development of a manuscript; and
- Reviewing and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data, troubleshooting implementation and data collection issues, and developing reports on the status of the project.
Work with in staff in the Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets on a peer-reviewed publication dealing with the effect of Choosing Wisely initiatives on reducing low-value health care, as well as assessing AHRQ's new Culture of Value and Efficiency Survey and Communicating About Value Checklist.
Work with staff in the Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets to conduct research on understanding variation in State Medicaid programs, with particular focus on expansion models, requirements, payment, and effects of expansion-related policy changes. Fellows will create tables (e.g., in Excel) to summarize and categorize materials and information located through the research process.
Work with staff in the Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets to conduct research to estimate the effects of the recession on hospitalization rates, emergency visits, inpatient cost per visit, chronic health conditions, and mental health conditions.
Work with staff in the Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets to conduct research on the models, methodology, and calculation of AHRQ's Quality Indicators.
Work with staff in the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement to analyze the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program and write a paper describing which, if any, factors are associated with high uptake and use of EPC reports.
Work with staff in the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement on the AHRQ's Health Information Technology (Health IT) team to assist in preparations for peer review meetings, note taking, and preparation of the funding materials for incoming health IT grant applications.
Work with staff in the Center for Evidence and Practice Improvement to help identify, via interviews with key informants and data review, the channels that end users use most frequently when they are seeking evidence to make clinical decisions, in the case of clinicians or patients, or program decisions, in the case of payers or policymakers. The Fellow will write a paper discussing potential dissemination strategies and may produce a manuscript for publication.
Work with staff in the Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety to conduct literature reviews, analyze aggregate data, and write a manuscript to support the use of the online version of AHRQ's HCUP administrative data to compare frequencies, demographic characteristics, inpatient outcomes and costs for patients with ischemic strokes, subarachnoid hemorrhages and other hemorrhagic strokes. The Fellow's involvement in the clinical, analytical, methodological, and presentation-related aspects of the project would depend on his or her background, interests, and career goals.
Work with staff in the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends to support analysis focused on the AHRQ priority of increasing accessibility and evaluation of Affordable Care Act coverage expansions. The Fellow will examine the questions of: What is the impact of Medicaid and marketplace coverage expansions on enrollment, access, health care use and expenditures, and health outcomes? How do these answers differ for residents in States that have expanded Medicaid eligibility in comparison to non-expansion States and between States with Federal versus State marketplaces?
Work with staff in the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends on the design of the MEPS Medical Organization Survey (MOS) grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The MEPS MOS will obtain essential data on the medical organizational characteristics, policies, and treatment protocols of the physicians providing ambulatory care to a nationally representative sample of individuals selected from the MEPS. This project will focus on the design specifications for the survey and finalizing the analytical content of the questionnaire.
Work with staff in the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends to support analysis focused on access and affordability and determination of the actuarial values of employer-sponsored health insurance plans. This project will focus on quantifying the actuarial values of single and family insurance plans provided by private employers based on data from the MEPS.
Work with staff in the Center for Financing, Access, and Cost Trends to benchmark MEPS use and expenditure data using Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Medicare and Medicaid claims data. The Fellow will assist in conducting a periodic methodological investigation to assess the quality of the data collected in the MEPS, identifying potential improvements in data collection and file preparation procedures, and providing guidance on methods for enhancing MEPS data for use in health care policy analyses and simulations.
Work with staff in the Office of Communications and Knowledge Transfer on an analysis of trends in the uptake of and need for training resources in shared decision making in clinical practice, specifically across Federal Government entities that provide health care directly or fund health care, such as the Indian Health Service, the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration and Veterans Administration Hospitals, and others State-based organizations. The project would include interviews with key Government personnel, policy analysis, and a brief literature review to help determine opportunities and strategies for effectively disseminating and implementing the Share Approach Workshops to improve patient engagement in their care across the Federal and State government health care initiatives. The final product will be a comprehensive opportunity analysis and cross-walk to identify recommendations for future work in the field as well as a research paper and presentation to staff.

Qualification Requirements

Only U.S. citizens or citizens who have gained U.S. citizenship through naturalization may be considered. Applicants who are non-immigrant visa holders or immigrant green card holders (i.e., permanent residents) are ineligible for consideration. Successful applicants should possess an advanced degree (a Master's degree or higher level degree) with a concentration in health services research, health policy (e.g., public health, economics, sociology, biostatics, epidemiology, or political science), or a health-related or research field. In addition, applicants should possess and be able to demonstrate a fundamental understanding of research, statistics, and scientific terminology and an ability to communicate information orally and in writing.

Junior Fellows will be assigned a senior-level researcher, who will provide guidance and direction regarding the assigned research projects as well as the principles and protocols that guide the conduct of health services research. Additionally, the senior-level researcher will establish a curriculum for the Fellow to ensure a successful experience with the Agency. The curriculum will include, but is not limited to:

Identification of background materials relevant for research assignments to ensure the Fellow's success.
Attendance at Agency seminars and brown bag lectures and external experiences to clarify the Agency's role in the field of health services research and the broader health care community.
Information regarding the Agency's programs, vision, and activities to fully understand AHRQ's research endeavors and goals.

*This Fellowship opportunity does not convey any Federal benefits due to the temporary nature of the appointment and travel, and relocation and housing expenses will not be paid.

Evaluation Method

Applicants who meet the qualification requirements described above will be further evaluated by determining the extent to which their work or related experience, education, training, etc., demonstrate that the applicant possesses the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully perform the duties and responsibilities associated with the Fellowship assignment.

Application Procedures

Applicants should submit the following documentation:

Curriculum vitae or résumé articulating relevant experience including the month and year the experience was gained.
Unofficial transcripts documenting educational experience (official transcripts will be required if selected for this opportunity).

Application materials must be sent to: Margaret.Ciffolilli@ahrq.hhs.gov.

Applications must contain all of the documentation cited above and be submitted by the closing date to be considered.

Questions may be referred to:

Margaret Ciffolilli
Margaret.Ciffolilli@ahrq.hhs.gov
301-427-1821

AHRQ provides reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the application and/or hiring process, please contact the National Institutes of Health's Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at 301-496-6301. The decision on granting a reasonable accommodation will be on a case-by-case basis.

Additional information regarding the Agency and its activities may be obtained by visiting our web site atwww.ahrq.gov.

AHRQ IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

Page last reviewed January 2015

Internet Citation: AHRQ 2015 Summer Intramural Fellowship Program. January 2015. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/cpi/about/careers/summerfellows.html