Author: jbmandel

Finishing up at the Cambridge Public Health Department

It amazes me how quickly the summer can go by! I have thoroughly enjoyed being an intern in the Division of Epidemiology and Data Services at the Cambridge Public Health Department. In the past few weeks, I took some time off from working on the Cambridge neighborhood wellness index to work on two other projects: a health resource map and heart disease and stroke mapping project. These projects utilized the GIS mapping skills I gained in the previous weeks. I had a very productive meeting with staff from the Division of Community Health and Wellness, another division within the Cambridge Public Health Department, to discuss the health resource map. Much of our conversation circled back to the idea that to maintain good health, people need access to more than hospitals and health clinics; the food resources and recreation opportunities available to people are also important.

This internship has both challenged and helped shape my views of social justice in healthcare. By researching the social determinants of illness, I have learned a lot about how where we live shapes our habits and views on health. Although in many cases it is ultimately an individual’s responsibility to make healthy choices (i.e. choosing to snack on fruits and vegetables instead of junk food), the location in which a person has grown up has a huge impact on not only what choices a person makes regarding his or her health, but what options are available. In looking at the health resource map I drafted, I saw that certain areas of Cambridge seemed less accessible to some health services like hospitals and pharmacies. This observation got me thinking: are these areas lacking other resources? How does a lack of access to these services contribute to illness? I think that it is important to address the root of the problem to improve health equity.

Having completed my internship, I want to learn even more about epidemiology and public health research. The projects I worked on reinforced and broadened what I know about the connection between social factors and illness. As a Jerome A. Schiff Undergraduate Research Fellow, I am looking forward to incorporating what I learned this summer about health disparities into my research project on community gardens as primary prevention of childhood obesity. I have a greater appreciation for the ways in which the built environment fosters or discourages healthy living habits. This internship made it clear to me that I want to work in public health, and I am interested in learning more about epidemiology. Although I cannot take Intro to Epidemiology until senior year, I plan on learning as much as I can about epidemiology by reading about it. I think that the best way to learn is through experience, so my advice to anyone interested in a certain subject or field is to try it out! Ask questions, get to know the other people in the office, and give it your best. An internship is a great way to explore your interests and maybe get a better sense of what you want to do after Brandeis. I learned a lot about how social disparities influence health, and I will definitely apply what I learned this summer to my future studies.

– Jennifer Mandelbaum ’14

GIS Mapping at the Cambridge Public Health Department

The past few weeks of my internship have gone by quickly! It’s hard to believe I’m already at the halfway point. My internship in the Division of Epidemiology and Data Services at the Cambridge Public Health Department has given me the opportunity to begin to understand how social disparities affect community wellness through work on a neighborhood wellness index. By seeing how factors like cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality, obesity rate, green space, and walkability contribute to the health of a neighborhood, this project has reinforced what I have learned about the environment’s role in population health. When this data is overlaid with sociodemographic data, we will get a better sense of how social disparities affect community wellness. I’m proud of how the index is coming along, and I’m looking forward to learning how to map wellness indicators using the GIS program. Mapping the wellness index will take it from being a list of numbers and neighborhood wellness ratings to something more visual and dynamic. Although it has been challenging at times, I have enjoyed the process of starting with a project from scratch and seeing how it has evolved over several weeks.

In addition to the insight I have gained into chronic disease through the mapping project, this internship has given me an opportunity to see how a local public health department operates. Although much of the work I have done has been independent, the process of creating a neighborhood wellness index requires collaboration with colleagues in the Division of Epidemiology and Data Services, other divisions within the Cambridge Public Health Department, and other external partners in Cambridge. The collaborative aspect of public health doesn’t surprise me, given how interdisciplinary health is, but it wasn’t something I thought a lot about before starting this internship. The Division of Epidemiology and Data Services and the School Health program of the Cambridge Public Health Department share an office, so I have been able to see how they work together. The work I have done on this project and what I have learned about the other work of the Division has helped me gain a better understanding of what a public health department does and how public health data is collected, organized, and analyzed.

I have built a number of skills through this internship that I can transfer to academics and future career plans. The quantitative nature of this work will help me in my coursework at Brandeis by improving my data analysis skills. Brandeis social science courses tend to be qualitative, and this work will help me look at social factors in a more measurable way. A basic understanding of GIS software might be useful for courses at Brandeis, in graduate school, or in the workforce. I have also benefited from working in an office environment. Most of my other public health experience has involved hands-on field-based work, so this internship has taught me about working in an office and office etiquette. I’ve really enjoyed the first half of my internship, and I’m looking forward to seeing where the neighborhood wellness index goes in the second half.

 – Jennifer Mandelbaum ’14

First Week at the Cambridge Public Health Department

The Cambridge Public Health Department (CPHD) improves the quality of life of Cambridge residents and workers by encouraging healthy behaviors, fostering safe environments, and reducing illness.

I am interning at the CPHD’s Division of Epidemiology and Data Services, whose main objectives are to identify community health problems, evaluate population-based health services, and research innovative solutions to health problems. Epidemiologists study factors that influence population health, which serve as a basis for thinking about solutions to these problems.

I wanted an internship this summer that would allow me to learn more about public health departments and incorporate my interest in socioeconomic roots of illness. I researched internships at hospitals, community health centers, and public health departments. The internship at the Division Epidemiology and Data Services at CPHD interested me the most because the project would allow me to focus on social epidemiology and health initiatives in a city. I initially contacted them last fall for a spring internship, but there were no positions available. I kept in touch, and my perseverance paid off. I worked closely with the manager to find projects that will meet the department’s need for creative thinkers to analyze data while giving me the opportunity to advance my own goals by studying social determinants of health.

The Division of Epidemiology and Data Services recently received a grant to incorporate GIS (Geographic Information System) maps into their surveillance of chronic diseases. Integrating a GIS component would help identify areas of need and give direction for policy efforts. One of the ways in which GIS may be used is to create and map a neighborhood wellness index. This index would be overlaid with socioeconomic status and baseline health maps in order to identify any potential health disparities and spatial patterns in health outcomes and the environment. In my first week, I researched existing neighborhood wellness indexes and what layers of these indexes might be mapped (i.e., walkability, miles of bike lanes, green space, access to healthy food options, fitness stations, etc.). The map below shows how GIS technology can be used to map walkability. In this map, the darker shaded areas in the Seattle area are more walkable than the lighter areas.

King County, WA walkability mapped using GIS

Learn how GIS is used in public health on the World Health Organization’s page on GIS and Public Health Mapping.

Overall, my first week went very well! I liked that I was able to start working on a project right away, and the orientation I had on the first day helped me get better acquainted with the CPHD and the work of the Division. The work I have done so far has been very independent, but my supervisors check in with me often to make sure that I understand the project and answer any questions. I have enjoyed slowly getting to know the other people in the office. The other intern, an MPH student, and I went to a coffee shop on Thursday morning, and I liked hearing about her work and plans for the future. I found it helpful to speak with someone who is a little farther along in the process of working in public health than I am. I have already learned so much about working in a public health setting in this first week, and I expect that I will continue to learn more about epidemiology and the factors that contribute to illness as the summer progresses.

Image Sources:

http://www.cambridgema.gov/citynewsandpublications/news/2011/06/cambridgecelebratesmenshealthmonth1.aspx

http://www.b-sustainable.org/built-environment/walkability-index

– Jennifer Mandelbaum ’14