DAN Research Associate - Injury Monitoring

Job Description

Job DescriptionSalary: $50,000.00-$60,000.00

Job Description

Title: Research Associate Injury Monitoring
FLSA: Non-Exempt
Department: Research
Primary Worksite: 6 West Colony Place, Durham, NC
Reports to: VP Research / Research Director

Start: asap

Pre-Requisites:
Background (Bachelors) in Public Health, Biostatistics, Sociology, Epidemiology, Demography or related field

Occupational Summary:
The DAN Research Department maintains an injury surveillance and information system from primary and secondary sources of data which collects and tracks data on fatal and non-fatal scuba injuries to analyze and disseminate information to promote safe diving. We work in multi-disciplinary partnerships to develop prevention strategies to reduce morbidity and mortality due to injury in scuba diving.

As the Research Associate for Injury Surveillance, you will collaborate with other DAN departments to manage, clean and analyze structured and unstructured data and maintain documentation of analytic processes. You will be asked to use your quantitative skills to summarize statistical findings and perform program evaluation. When needed you will implement improvement projects in response to evaluation findings.

You will implement a rigorous surveillance protocol and liaison with dive training agencies, dive operators, local, and state investigative organizations and coroner and medical examiner offices in order to facilitate data collection activities on fatal and non-fatal diving incidents. You will input complex high quality medical and accident information in an electronic database.

You will conduct systematic reviews of literature, medical, and administrative records and you will use your scientific communication skills to draft policy briefs and scientific reports as needed, as well as contribute to the DAN Annual Diving Report and other peer-reviewed and lay publications. Some travel and availabilities at weekends required.

Duties/Responsibilities:
Implement and monitor media for near misses, fatal and non-fatal scuba related events
Conduct data entry and database management
Obtain investigative and medical examiners reports and other health surveillance data on SCUBA related events
Conduct record abstraction on all fatal and non-fatal SCUBA events
Maintain database of investigative agencies and medical examiners
Enter and clean all data related to SCUBA events
Maintain REDCap and other tools for electronic data collection and analysis
Communicate effectively with medical professionals and administrative personnel
Read and interpret highly complex medical information from a variety of sources
Act as survey coordinator for selected surveys deployed from the DAN Research Department
Conduct data queries and statistical analysis using SAS, SQL, R, Python, Prism, or QGIS
Produce data visualizations for varied audiences
Assist with the implementation of preventative interventions
Maintain compliance with IRB, HIPAA, and other federal research requirements
Provide administrative support for IRB operations
Coordinate activities with DAN staff and external stakeholders to document system/process weaknesses and undertake improvement activities in response to evaluation findings
Draft periodic progress reports, and other data reports as needed
Deliver presentations to varied audiences including dive community, hyperbaric physicians and scientific community at dive shows and scientific conferences
Respond to inquiries from DAN members
Follow-up with study participants to complete data collection
Communicate with scientific collaborators and research volunteers
Assist with administration of the DAN Internships

Required Qualifications/Experience
Keen interest and knowledge in diving medicine, diving research, diving technology and safety
Attention to detail
Bachelors degree in public health, biostatistics, epidemiology, sociology, demography or other diving research related field
Active certified diver and willingness to advance diving skills
Strong personal and professional communication skills
Basic knowledge in project- and database management
Willingness to learn project coordination and management assisted by online tools.
Survey development and implementation
Willingness to conduct field data collection
Ability to effectively search electronic resources
Data management and cleaning
Understanding of health surveillance systems
Experience conducting descriptive analysis and analysis that measures variability, relationships, and significance
Proficiency in Microsoft Suite 365
Experience promoting a culturally competent and diverse work environment

Desired Qualifications
Scientific writing experience
Basic knowledge of programming languages including SQL and Visual Basic
Knowledge of population-based public health promotion strategies
Demonstrate knowledge of medical records organization and management, including the principles of coding/classifications systems (ICD9 and ICD10)
Proficient in data and spatial analysis software such as SAS, R, Python, Prism, and QGIS

Please submit a letter of motivation, an academic CV and dive resume, and contact details for two individuals that have worked with you professionally or otherwise and would be willing to provide a reference.