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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Injury Prevention Program

Fellowship Program

Fellowship Program

The IHS Injury Prevention Fellowship Program is a 12-month advanced learning experience for individuals promoting injury prevention in American Indian/Alaska Native communities.

There are two Fellowship programs, the Program Development Fellowship and the Epidemiology Fellowship. While the two Fellowships have a similar structure (both have 4 course sessions and a 2-day symposium, both require completion of a project) their emphasis, content, and pre-requisites differ (please see details below).

fellowship participants

Benefits of completing the Fellowship

  • Project development, implementation, evaluation
  • Promote community involvement
  • Effective strategies
  • Epidemiology
  • Data collection and analysis
  • Coalition building
  • Program evaluation
  • Oral/written communication
  • Individualized learning experiences
  • Field work

Fellowship Point of Contact

Holly Billie, MPH, Injury Prevention Program Manager, IHS
OEHE-DEHS
5600 Fishers Ln.
MS: 10N14C
Rockville, MD 20857
Phone: 301-443-8620

Injury Prevention Fellowship Options

Epidemiology Fellowship

The Epidemiology (EPI) Fellowship provides practical knowledge and skills for injury and violence prevention practitioners working in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Building on the IHS Injury Prevention Program Short Courses, and prior experiences of the participants, the Fellowship offers training in: injury epidemiology; field work; program evaluation; and report writing and presentation skills.

The goal of the EPI Fellowship is to provide advanced training and experience managing a project to injury and violence prevention practitioners working with AI/AN communities. Fellowship participants develop their skills by working on individual projects related to an injury or violence problem facing AI/AN people. EPI Fellowship projects focus on unintentional injury or intentional violence and emphasize data collection and analysis (e.g., epidemiology, surveillance, cost, evaluation).

All Fellowship participants develop a project report and present the results of their projects at a program-ending Fellowship Symposium.

Each Fellow was assigned a local project mentor to provide advice and guidance. The local mentor’s role was to assist the Fellow in identifying a topic and developing a project plan, establishing timelines, and providing guidance in the design, implementation, and evaluation of the project.

An Academic Advisor Team from the Department of Health Behavior at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) developed and delivered the 2019-2020 EPI Fellowship. The team included: Carolyn Crump, PhD, Robert Letourneau, MPH, and James Emery, MPH. They designed and delivered the curriculum for three in-person and four distance-based learning sessions. They worked in consultation with CAPT Holly Billie, MPH, IHS Injury Prevention Program Manager, to plan and support Fellows and local project mentors throughout the Fellowship program.

Program Development Fellowship

Focus: Plan, implement, and/or evaluate community-based interventions

Education Prerequisites: No bachelor's degree required

Training Prerequisites: Introduction to IP (Level 1) or equivalent.

Professional Experience Prerequisites: 1 year in injury prevention

Travel /Time away from Home: 4 weeks + Symposium (2 days)

Curriculum:

  • Injury Prevention Program Planning
  • Program Implementation and Evaluation
  • Field Course
  • Marketing & Advocacy
  • Symposium
  • Several distance learning sessions throughout the year