Fellowship Program
2019-2020 Injury Prevention Epidemiology Fellowship
EPI Fellowship Program Summary [PDF - 1.16 MB]
Thirteen fellows completed the program from June 2019 to September 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on Fellow project completion, the 12-month Fellowship was extended to 15 months.
Fellows attended four in-person learning sessions:
- Assessment and Planning (June 2019; Atlanta, GA)
- IVP Networking and Study Design (July 2019; Denver, CO)
- Field Work (October 2018; IHS Navajo Area NM/AZ)
- Continuing Education (January 2020; Johns Hopkins University Winter Institute)
And four distance-based learning sessions:
- Applied Epidemiology and Data Collection (Sept and Dec 2019)
- Scientific Writing and Presentations (Dec 2019 and Feb 2020)
- Funding and Proposal Development (April 2020)
- Social Marketing and Advocacy (August 2020)
The program ended with a virtual Symposium from September 28-30, 2020. Recorded project presentations were aired, followed by live A&Q. Audio recordings of the events are available:
- 9/28/20: Motor Vehicle Safety (2 hours)
- 9/29/20: Falls and Opioid Prevention (75 minutes)
- 9/30/20: Injury Data (60 minutes)
Fellow Projects by Category
The 13 Fellows were required to submit project reports. Below is a list of report titles by category, in the order in which projects were presented at the Symposium. Only reports with permission to share are posted on this site.
Motor Vehicle Safety
- George Chung, MPH, REHS Evidence-based assessment of the Hopi Tribe’s MVC data collection and reporting system
- Tabatha Harris, MA, Assessing access and use of tribal motor vehicle crash data in Indian Country [PDF - 810 KB]
- Jordan Vandjelovic, MPH, Absence of tribal traffic laws as a risk factor for crash injury severity: A retrospective study [PDF - 313 KB]
- Melinda Hansen, MS, Evaluation of a Curbside Car Seat Check in a Tribal Community
- Wilpita Honie, MPH, A Descriptive Study of 2018 Navajo Nation Child Passenger Safety Data
- Antoinette Toya, REHS, How safe are the school bus stops in the Pueblo of Jemez?
Fall and Opioid Overdose Prevention
- Zachary Hargis, MS, REHS, Older adult falls in a Southwest American Indian community: The problem and potential intervention [PDF - 677 KB]
- Veronica Leaf-Bellile, A Process Evaluation of Tai Chi Classes and Elder Fall Prevention Services on a South Dakota Reservation
- Monte Yazzie, MA, Yoga for elder fall prevention: Pilot study of a 10-week program for older adults in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community [PDF - 1.31 MB]
- James Isaacs, MS, REHS, Use of the Overdose Detection Mapping Application Program (ODMAP) to study opioid overdoses in Oklahoma and the Pawnee Service Unit [PDF - 383 KB]
Injury Data
- Kayla Davis Phoenix Area Indian Health Service Injury Atlas
- Clifton Ellis Descriptive study of injuries within the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribal territory of Oklahoma [PDF - 423 KB]
- Carolyn Garcia, MSPH, REHS California Area Indian Health Service Atlas of Injuries 2006-2017
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).
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