{"id":175309,"date":"2023-04-04T15:51:25","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T01:51:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=175309"},"modified":"2024-03-15T13:09:40","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T23:09:40","slug":"public-health-doh-postdoc-scholar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2023\/04\/04\/public-health-doh-postdoc-scholar\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovative public health scholar position supported by UH<\/abbr>, DOH<\/abbr>"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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Lance Ching, Simone Schmid and Tetine Sentell<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A recent University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa PhD<\/abbr> graduate is the first to take on a new role that is designed to improve health outcomes for Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> communities. UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health<\/a> and the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> State Department of Health (DOH<\/abbr>) partnered to create the position of a post-doctoral resident scholar in public health, now held by Simone Schmid<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Typically, such positions allow recent doctoral graduates to begin their careers while still receiving mentorship from experienced colleagues. Schmid has been in her role since summer 2022.<\/p>\n

“The new position lies at the intersection of public health practice and scholarly activities,” said Tetine Sentell<\/strong>, interim dean of the Thompson school, who oversees the academic aspects of the position. “We want to encourage early-career professionals to conduct their work through the lens of health equity and improve the health of all Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> communities by addressing the social determinants of health.” <\/p>\n

Improving health equity across state<\/h2>\n

One project that Schmid has worked on is evaluating Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>‘s stroke awareness program and care system. The program aims to reach people in rural Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and increase public awareness of the importance of calling an ambulance, rather than attempting to drive to the ER<\/abbr>, if a family member may be having a stroke. Schmid’s work illuminated the aspects of the program that are effective, as well as those that need improvement.<\/p>\n

…UH<\/abbr> and the DOH<\/abbr> are working together to move Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> forward and improve health equity across the state
—Simone Schmid<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

She has also worked on projects related to preventing tobacco use, promoting healthy eating and increasing physical activity. <\/p>\n

“I feel so privileged to be a part of this partnership. My knowledge and skills are expanding enormously,” said Schmid. “The creation of this scholar position shows how UH<\/abbr> and the DOH<\/abbr> are working together to move Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> forward and improve health equity across the state, and is an innovative way to bridge the distance between academia and the state public health agency.”<\/p>\n

Developing skills for future workforce <\/h2>\n

“This position allows us to work with a motivated scholar to develop the skills needed to stay here in our system in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” said Lance Ching, an epidemiologist with the DOH<\/abbr>\u2019s Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion Division, who oversees the agency’s aspects of the position.<\/p>\n

For example, many DOH<\/abbr> positions require experience in writing grants or holding a leadership position. In her role, Schmid will have opportunities to do both. “By getting involved in work for both the state government and the university, Schmid will be well-positioned to meet future public health challenges in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” Ching said. <\/p>\n

Long-term goals<\/h2>\n

Over the longer-term, Schmid’s goal is to work toward increasing physical activity in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>, including for people with physical disabilities. She’s applying for a grant to determine the “metabolic equivalent,” or MET<\/abbr>, for outrigger canoe paddling. MET<\/abbr>s show how many calories a person burns when engaged in an activity.<\/p>\n

“The MET<\/abbr> for many activities such as soccer and running have been determined, but there’s less information about the activities that are culturally relevant to Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>,” she said. The MET<\/abbr> for hula <\/a>was recently determined by UH<\/abbr> experts, and she wants to expand the work to other activities such as paddling and surfing, including MET<\/abbr> determinations for people with physical disabilities.<\/p>\n

Schmid feels she will be well prepared to enter Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span>‘s public health workforce at the completion of her scholar position. “I wish a bridge position between UH<\/abbr> and DOH<\/abbr> like this would exist for the long-term. I truly believe in the synergies of it,” she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Simone Schmid is the first post-doctoral resident scholar in public health.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[1466,1467,1363,241,449,596,9,1626],"class_list":["post-175309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-manoa-enhancing-student-success","tag-manoa-excellence-in-research","tag-manoa-research","tag-public-health","tag-public-health-sciences","tag-myron-b-thompson-school-of-social-work","tag-uh-manoa","tag-women-of-uh","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t