Research Assistant

The Center for Home Care Policy & Research at VNS Health, the largest nonprofit home healthcare agency in the United States is seeking a Research Assistant to support data collection for current and upcoming research studies. Dis-Infection Study: In collaboration with the School of Nursing at Columbia University and the University of Rochester, the study aims to understand the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of home care patients and their caregivers related to infection prevention and control in the home environment. Speech Recognition Study: In collaboration with the School of Nursing at Columbia University, this innovative study aims to audio record clinician-patient conversations to develop a tool to detect patients who are at increased risk for emergency department or hospital admission during their home care episode. The Research Assistant will recruit participants for the interviews and conduct interviews and audio recordings in participant homes. For the speech recognition project, phone conversations may also be recorded between research assistants and patients. We are seeking a detail-oriented individual who is passionate about research and willing to travel to participants' homes for data collection activities.

$17.49 - $21.80 Hourly

What We Provide

• Referral bonus opportunities   
• Generous paid time off (PTO), starting at 30 days of paid time off and 9 company holidays 
• Health insurance plan for you and your loved ones, Medical, Dental, Vision, Life and Disability  
• Employer-matched retirement saving funds 
• Personal and financial wellness programs  
• Pre-tax flexible spending accounts (FSAs) for healthcare and dependent care   
• Generous tuition reimbursement for qualifying degrees 
• Opportunities for professional growth and career advancement  
• Internal mobility, generous tuition reimbursement, CEU credits, and advancement opportunities   

What You Will Do

• Conducts literature searches (including computerized searches), retrieves articles, reviews for appropriateness/relevancy of content, and prepares literature review summary, as directed.
• Assists researcher in the development of primary data collection instruments (e.g., interview protocols, patient questionnaires) by reviewing instruments used in related studies, identifying standardized and validated questions, organizing questions into logical groups, etc.
• Contacts subjects to solicit cooperation by providing information and answering questions about protocol process
• Collects data through subject interviews (including in-person, telephone and e-mail interviews) using standardized questionnaires/other tools, through abstracting data from records or through published sources, as directed. Enters data into appropriate databases.
• Prepares tables, charts and graphs for inclusion in reports.
• Prepares reference lists of the literature reviewed over the course of a project for inclusion in reports, papers and other documents describing the project and its results.
• Tracks project budget expenditures (e.g., expenditures on books, expert panel travel costs, consultant fees) under the direction of the project manager.
• Performs general office duties (i.e., filing, photocopying, taking minutes of meetings, coordinating conference/meeting logistics).
• Participates in special projects and performs other duties as assigned.

Education:

• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent experience in health care, social service, social sciences or related discipline preferred

Work Experience:

• Excellent oral communication and organizational skills required
• Proficient with personal computers, including word processing, spreadsheet/chart/graph/database preparation. (e.g., Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint) required
• Minimum of one year of related experience in a health or policy research setting preferred
• Some experience conducting in-person and telephone interviews, and/or focus groups preferred