Data Abstractor - Contractor

Commonwealth of Massachusetts•Boston, MA

23h

About The Position

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking to hire a temporary contractor to provide support to the Office of Statistics and Evaluation (OSE) to support statewide implementation of cross-cutting approaches to promote health and prevent injuries and associated risk factors. This position will primarily support the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention’s (BCHAP) Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) efforts to collect data on injuries and deaths related to homicides, suicides, and/or unintentional drug overdoses. This will include collecting data from documents such as death certificates, medical examiner reports, and police reports; performing data quality control; and meeting reporting requirements for federally funded cooperative agreements. This position will involve the use of confidential data, and signing a confidentiality agreement will be required.

Requirements

Capacity to assemble items of information following established procedures.
Potential to maintain accurate records.
Means to communicate concisely, express thoughts clearly, and develop ideas in a logical sequence, both orally and in writing.
Capability to follow written and oral instructions, and to communicate effectively in oral expression.
Power to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others and establish a rapport with others.
Able to deal tactfully with others.
Skilled to adjust to varying and changing situations to meet emergency or changing program requirements.
Ability to exercise sound judgment.
Relevant background knowledge and skills.
Applications must indicate the capacity to perform services, meet qualifications and stated experience, interview with Bureau designee, provide references, and demonstrate value.
Proven oral and written communication skills required.

Nice To Haves

Understanding of equity and its impact on access to resources and health.
Knowledge and understanding of qualitative data collection and analysis.
Experience working with medical records.
Exceptional communication skills.
Experienced working in groups and collaborating with others.
Ability to independently coordinate projects and activities.
Willingness to learn new technical skills (e.g., GIS mapping software, propensity scoring).
Knowledge of Microsoft Office.

Responsibilities

Collect, review, abstract, and code information from medical examiner reports, death certificates, police reports, and supplemental data sources on unintentional drug overdose-related deaths.
Act as project liaison with external and internal data providers, users, and stakeholders.
Assist in the creation and formatting of data dissemination products.
Conduct data quality control activities.
Maintain a database to track the progress of data abstraction.
Provide research and administrative support to the program supervisor and epidemiologist.
Attend training on the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) and State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) data coding systems.
Participate in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) communications related to data coding.
Work closely with other abstractors in the Injury Surveillance Program (ISP).
Attend staff and other injury-related meetings, as required.
Perform related duties essential to injury/overdose surveillance, BCHAP priorities, and DPH priorities, as assigned.