Students to research with health district

The Grant County Health District will partner with two University of Washington students on public health research.

The students, both studying for their master’s in public health epidemiology, are members of the Student Epidemic Action Leaders (SEAL) Team at UW. The SEAL Team provides students with experience in applied epidemiology training and field assignments at state and local health departments.

“This is our first SEAL Team to come to Grant County and it is a wonderful opportunity for GCHD to gain deeper insights into areas of public health concerns,” said GCHD Administrator Theresa Adkinson. “Our staff and community partners will be able to use the work of the SEALS to better refine and inform our programs and interventions.”

The district didn’t release their last names.

Sarah is working closely with GCHD’s Healthy Communities & Families division and specifically, with GCHD’s Harm Reduction Coordinator to create a GIS heat map of non-fatal overdoses in Grant County. The heat map will illustrate data through various colors to demonstrate areas in Grant County where overdose occurs most frequently. With the use of this data, GCHD staff and community partners can plan for prevention, interventions, and services in specific areas of the county.

Ashley has joined forces with GCHD’s Communicable Disease division to complete a three-part Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) assessment for Grant County. Her assessment will focus on:

• STI antibiotic accessibility and completion rates through local pharmacies,

• local healthcare providers’ capacity to treat and test for STIs, and

• analysis of GCHD’s internal STI investigation process and partner notification.