Research Assistant

The Department of General Internal Medicine seeks a Research Assistant to operate under the direction of the Principal Investigators and Research Program Managers. The incumbent will assist in the coordination and execution of activities that support the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Equity’s (JHCHE) Training Core and a specific research study, the RICH LIFE Project. The Center works to promote equity in health for at-risk populations through advancing scientific knowledge, promoting sustainable changes in practice and policy, collaborating with communities, raising public awareness of health inequities, and training scholars.

The JHCHE Training Core develops and oversees the implementation of didactic training and mentorship in health disparities and health equity research methods for pre-doctoral, post-doctoral, junior faculty, and senior faculty scholars in Schools of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing within Johns Hopkins University and other academic institutions.

The RICH LIFE Project is a pragmatic cluster randomized trial in which we compare the effectiveness of clinic-based standard of care plus audit, feedback and education to an intervention that uses a collaborative care team, a community health worker and specialist consultation to deliver contextualized, appropriately stepped care (CC/Stepped Care) for reducing disparities and improving patient-centered outcomes among patients with hypertension. Thirty primary care clinics, including Federally Qualified Health Centers, across Maryland recruited about 63 patients each (total=1,822). The team uses patient and broad stakeholder engagement and apply principles of community-based participatory research to refine and adapt intervention protocols and materials to the needs of participating organizations, clinic sites, and populations. The goal of the study is to improve care for hypertension and reduce racial disparities related to health outcomes.

The incumbent will work with adult community members, faculty, staff, and students from the Schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Public Health. He or she will work with our clinical partners and interact with providers, MAs, other clinical staff, and adult (21 and older) research participants. The incumbent will also directly assist the JHCHE Director and leadership with publications, public facing presentations, and other assigned duties.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities:

Using internal software tools, database, and script guidelines, reach out to candidates on the phone to speak with them about the project, determine eligibility, obtain oral consent, and record responses to interview questions. Ensures security, quality, and confidentiality of data by following policies and procedures. Make follow-up survey calls to enrolled participants. Completes data entry regarding participant information. Participate in staff meetings.
• Assists the Director of Training in all aspects of the Center for Health Equity Training Core activities.
• Assists in the planning and execution of monthly Health Equity Jam Sessions and Center sponsored symposiums.
• Reviews Center trainee surveys, connects trainees to identified faculty mentors, and maintains trainee data.
• Under the guidance of the Director of Training, drafts IRB protocols and IRB applications.
• Assists the Director of Training in SPH course development.
• Maintains knowledge of research study and Center training core protocols.
• Assists in the development of presentations, publications, toolkits, flyers, letters and other materials for dissemination of research and Center materials.
• Assists in the development of tables and figures for reports and manuscripts.
• Performs literature reviews.
• Assists in the coordination and participates in research study meetings, including the preparation of agendas and taking of detailed meeting minutes.
• May assist with Center communication and dissemination efforts, including website and newsletter maintenance and development.
• Assists in the maintenance of project databases.
• Assists with community engagement activities.
• Assists with CRMS data entry.
Completes all training in a timely manner.
• Other duties as assigned.

Assists project manager as necessary regarding typing, filing, faxing, mass mailings, chart review. Assists in preparing recruitment and tracking update reports. Assists in preparing monthly quality control and data management reports.