HHS Health Communication Fellowship
*Applications will be reviewed on a rolling-basis.
HHS Office and Location: A fellowship is available in the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) within the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH), Office of the Secretary (OS), at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), in Rockville, MD.
OASH provides leadership to the nation on public health and science matters and communicates about these subjects to the American people. OASH is a Staff Division in HHS that performs both policy and program roles and is led by the Assistant Secretary for Health (ASH), whose chief mission is promoting, protecting, and improving the nation’s health. For additional information, please visit: http://www.hhs.gov/ash/.
ODPHP, strategically placed in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of the Secretary, has been leading the alignment of disease prevention and health promotion activities across the department for more than 30 years. Within ODPHP, the Division of Health Promotion and Communication coordinates translation and dissemination of ODPHP programs, such as the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which provide science-based recommendations and summarize the latest knowledge about physical activity and health, and the National Youth Sports Strategy, which provides a roadmap for increasing youth sports participation. The Division also supports the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness & Nutrition and communication activities related to ODPHP’s work on the Healthy People initiative and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
Research Project: ODPHP manages the Move Your Way® campaign – the communications campaign to promote the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, 2nd edition. Move Your Way® reaches physical activity contemplators and encourages behavior change through science-backed, audience-tested, and plain-languages messages. The participant will be involved in ongoing audience research, product development, implementation and evaluation of the campaign.
The fellow may also be involved in the following activities:
- Participate in informative audience research related to barriers and facilitators to physical activity for specific populations
- Provide technical assistance and support to community organizations and local health departments in implementing and evaluating the Move Your Way® campaign in local communities
- Contribute to the development of health communication products such as videos, social media campaigns, and web resources for the Move Your Way® campaign
- Participate collaboratively to research, write, and edit blog posts, white papers, and peer-reviewed manuscripts about the campaign
- Participate in the development and implementation partnership and outreach plans to support the Move Your Way® campaign
- Participate in qualitative and quantitative analysis of evaluation data on the Move Your Way® campaign
- Participate in communication activities such as writing, editing, planning, and coordination related to ODPHP’s work across initiatives
- Assist with management of communications within the office including planning social media outreach, drafting written content for the health.gov website, and supporting the launch and outreach activities for the office’s major initiatives
Learning Objectives: The participant will gain professional experience in a health communication setting.
Mentor(s): The mentor for this opportunity is Jennifer Bishop (Jennifer.Bishop@hhs.gov). If you have questions about the nature of the research please contact the mentor(s).
Anticipated Appointment Start Date: June 15, 2022. Start date is flexible and will depend on a variety of factors.
Appointment Length: The appointment will initially be for one year, but may be renewed upon recommendation of HHS and is contingent on the availability of funds.
Level of Participation: The appointment is full-time.
Participant Stipend: The participant will receive a monthly stipend commensurate with educational level and experience.
Citizenship Requirements: This opportunity is available to U.S. citizens only.
ORISE Information: This program, administered by ORAU through its contract with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to manage the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), was established through an interagency agreement between DOE and HHS. The appointment is full-time at HHS in the Rockville, Maryland area. Participants do not become employees of HHS, DOE or the program administrator, and there are no employment-related benefits. Proof of health insurance is required for participation in this program. Health insurance can be obtained through ORISE.
The successful applicant(s) will be required to comply with Environmental, Safety and Health (ES&H) requirements of the hosting facility, including but not limited to, COVID-19 requirements (e.g. facial covering, physical distancing, testing, vaccination).
Questions: Please visit our Program Website. After reading, if you have additional questions about the application process please email HHSrpp@orau.org and include the reference code for this opportunity.