Health Policy Student Traineeship Program

Download this document in Adobe PDF or Microsoft Word

Program Goals:

The overall goal of the Health Policy Research Student Trainee ship Program offered by the Central Valley Health Policy Institute (CVHPI) at California State University, Fresno is to engage students in cutting-edge policy research and analysis focused on key health challenges in the San Joaquin Valley. The program seeks to support career development for Master’s and pre-dissertation doctoral level students by providing an opportunity for supervised participation in an inter-disciplinary applied health and human service research setting. To meet these objectives, up to three Health Policy Research Student Trainees will be selected for 2007. Trainee ships will also be offered in subsequent years.

Health Policy Research Student Trainees will receive up to $2500 for participation in the program. Participants may work on a part-time basis throughout the year or on an intensive basis during the summer. Trainees selected for 2007 will utilize their program participation to work with CVHPI staff and/or an Interdisciplinary Health Policy Research Fellow to conduct literature reviews, analyze data sets included in the CVHPI data warehouse, or field pilot studies. Doctoral program students may use this experience as pre-work for a dissertation and Master’s level students may use this experience to develop or implement culminating projects. All program participants will develop a final project report in the form of a paper suitable for publication or a proposal for externally funded research that focus on Institute priority areas. For 2007, these priorities include:

San Joaquin Valley Public Health and Healthcare Infrastructure: Opportunities to Improve Access and Quality: The San Joaquin Valley faces a healthcare and public health infrastructure that is under-funded and overwhelmed today and expecting rapid increase in demand for services as the region’s population skyrockets. Studies are needed that address healthcare infrastructure (such as health professional shortages, primary care efficiency, hospital financial well-being, enhancing volunteer management/advisory capacity, telemetric and e-health opportunities) and public health infrastructure (shared services models, coordination of funding streams and requirement, or intersections of public health and other county/regional functions). The California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, Health and Human Service Working Group recommendations include calls for new primary research, demonstration/evaluation, and policy analysis efforts related to several infrastructure enhancement efforts. Projects responding to these priorities are encouraged.
2. Immigrant Economic Well-being and Health: Because of our cultural diversity and high economic reliance on immigrant labor for key industries, the San Joaquin Valley is a prime location for understanding the factors that shape the health and healthcare system use of immigrants. While research emphasizing cultural factors in immigrant physical and social well-being has been conducted in the region, there is little specific attention to how economic and health policy factors shaper immigrant health and healthcare use. Many immigrants, particularly those in agriculture and construction linked employment, may face relatively low salaries, seasonal employment, long travel to work sites, and little or no health insurance coverage. How these and related factors influence health status and participation in health promoting activities has not been examined in depth in our region. Studies are also needed that begin to sort out the influences of age, cohort, and period on health and healthcare use among immigrant older adults.
3. Linking Health Concerns to Environmental Policy Development/Air Quality-Sensitive Health Conditions: An extensive national and local literature documents the extent of air and water pollution in our region and the impacts on population health. Despite the implicit public health goals of environmental quality, public debates about these policies are not closely enough linked to science about the public health and healthcare impacts associated with poor environmental quality or the complexities of developing and implementing efficacious community-oriented services programs that address air-quality sensitive health conditions (asthma, other respiratory conditions). Studies that evaluate local programs to address air-quality sensitive health conditions or use local experiences to develop new services are needed. Studies that explore environment policy attitudes in relation to health conditions or how health-related data can be more effectively brought into environmental policy making are also encouraged.

[ Back to Top ]

The final project report must be submitted by November 30, 2007. The final report will be in the form of a paper suitable for publication and/or a proposal for externally funded research.

Health Policy Research Student Trainees will meet regularly with CVHPI staff and participants in the CVHPI Interdisciplinary Health Policy Research Fellowship program throughout their program period. Seminars led by other health policy researchers and scholars with relevant methodological expertise will be offered to further facilitate participants’ training.

Program Eligibility and Application Process:

To be eligible to participate in the Health Policy Research Student Trainee ship Program, an individual must be enrolled in a Master's or Doctoral program relevant to health policy. Examples of such programs include any of the Master's programs offered through the California State University, Fresno College of Health and Human Services, other public health, social work, nursing/allied health professional, public administration or public policy Master's programs, or Doctoral programs in applied health and human services or public policy fields. In addition, Health Policy Research Student Trainee ship Program applicants must be sponsored and supervised by a faculty member at their educational institution. They may arrange for course credit for their experience.

Applications should be submitted by May 16, 2007 and applicants will be notified of selection by May 23, 2007. Applicants for the program should submit a letter stating:

The proposed topic area for research and conduct of literature review, field pilot study or other activities (250 words maximum);
A timeline for participation and completion of final report by November 30, 2006;
A description of how participation in the trainee ship will be coordinated with other academic program requirements (250 words maximum);
A description of how program participation will further a longer-term career plan for health policy research and technical assistance initiatives focused on the needs of the San Joaquin Valley (100 words maximum).

Accompanying the letter of application, prospective participants should provide:

A biographical sketch (education, work experiences, community involvements);
Two examples of research or proposal writing (such as course papers, research proposals, or any publications); and
A letter of sponsorship by a faculty member from the institution in which the applicant is currently enrolled. The letter must indicate that the faculty member will be supervising the trainee ship in the context of an independent study or other course for credit and that the student will be submitting a final report that will be reviewed by the faculty sponsor prior to awarding credit.

For more information about the program or to submit an application, please contact:

John Capitman, PhD.
Executive Director
Central Valley Health Policy Institute
California State University, Fresno
1625 East Shaw Ave, Suite 146
Fresno , California 93710-8106
Telephone: 559-228-2157
Fax: 559 228-2168
Email Dr. Ca pitman

[ Back to Top ]