Data Analysis in Environmental Health Food Program
Description: The food inspection program regulates approximately 2500 licensed food service establishments in Kent County. The project would take data that was analyzed in 2024 fiscal year and continue to analyze it to target specific outreach and determine gaps based on the data's findings. It would include work in an internal software program called Hedgehog, and utilize other programs such as Excel, Access, and statistical analysis. The data in Hedgehog includes violations based on priority level and looking at facility types, risk factors and demographics.
Importance to Public Health: The food inspection program must make data-driven, risk-based decisions to lead to a reduction in the number of risk factors that may lead to foodborne illness. Data will help identify target outreach opportunities and help determine specific risk factor studies the program wants to do in order to succeed in strategic goals, such as applying for the Crumbine Award.
Project Deliverables:
Data reports (to Food Team) possibly in the form of an Improvement Plan.
The student will be expected to deliver a presentation summarizing their internship experience a the Student Research Day that will take place in August.
Minimum Qualifications:
Must be enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program
- Must be enrolled in a bachelor’s or master’s degree program
- Computer proficiency is required
- Experience with statistical analysis software (SPSS, Stata, Python, Excel) preferred