CIF Internship Program 2024

About host organization

Curatio International Foundation (CIF) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization with a mission to improve health through health policy and systems strengthening.  CIF’s work is underpinned by three core values: hearing needs; building on local strengths; and delivering innovative, context-specific solutions.  CIF’s national and international professional staff and researchers work locally, regionally and internationally to improve the functionality of health care systems and to better inform health policy decision making.

Since its establishment in 2010, CIF’s Internship Program has become a global hub, attracting over 25 international interns from prestigious universities like JHU, Washington University, NYU, LSHTM and etc. This program offers a unique chance for students worldwide to immerse in global health policy projects, advancing research skills. Embark on a transformative journey where your internship is not just a steppingstone—it’s a launchpad for future global health leaders. We will give an opportunity to dive deep into cutting-edge global health policy projects, refining your research skills and collaborating with world-leading experts in the field. Interns are expected to contribute to scientific publications and explore a spectrum of topics in Health Policy and Systems Research, including health systems strengthening, health financing and etc.

This is more than an internship and for more details, visit Curatio International Foundation’s Internship Program page and scroll down to explore our interns experiences.

Our work is based on network of national and international professionals and researchers to bridge the gap between what is known about the problems at hand and what has to be done in order to solve them. Our work intends at improving functionality health care systems and adequacy of and health policies. Today we work not only locally and regionally, but increasingly at the international level. More information is available here.

2024 Summer Internship Program

The summer internship program is now open! Master’s degree and/or Ph.D. students from around the world are invited to apply and use the possibility to develop advanced research skills, meet leading experts in the field and/or become a co-author of a scientific paper.

During the Summer 2024 CIF offers several opportunities for possible interns:

1. Project #1 Title: Georgia Health Utilization and Expenditure Survey (HUES) 2023.

Project Overview: CIF with the support of Ministry of Health, World Bank, The Global Fund, WHO and AFD in undertaking Health Utilization and Expenditure Survey (HUES), that is regarded as a reliable source of data for measuring out-of-pocket expenditure (OOP) on a household level and data on health service use, including barriers to care. Furthermore, HUES is the only instrument for tracking health coverage, service availability, and geographic coverage of health services disaggregated by household income status (quintile groups). HUES is designed to track the impact of health reforms on population health, linked to services (by function), as well as on poverty and catastrophic health expenditure.

The overall objective of the HUES is to monitor progress in the utilization of and expenditures on health services, including the burden that households bear to cover the cost of treatment, including medicines. The survey also looks at the population’s self-reported healthcare status, use of services, and user satisfaction. The dataset which Curatio International Foundation has includes five waves of HUES (2007, 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2023) allowing observation of historical evolution of the health care financing in Georgia over a decade of reforms. Curatio International Foundation intends to analyze the data and produce several scientific papers filling in the national and Global evidence gaps with regards to health financing reforms.

Therefore the specific objectives for the internship will include:

• Work with the CIF team to identify important research questions around which the data analysis could be carried out. Such questions may include (nut not limited to) estimating the level of OOP expenditure on health care, including as part of individual/household income and expenditure and producing trend analysis linked with the reforms implemented in the country; evaluating dynamics in financial protection by unpacking the factors that may undermine the financial protection of individuals and lead to catastrophic health expenditure and/or impoverishing health spending; evaluate factors supporting or inhibiting access to care that may include financial, geographic-physical, socio-cultural etc. factors.
• Under the guidance of an assigned researcher, who has carried out trend analysis with HUES databases and is currently working on the analysis report, take part in writing a potential research article using Andersen’s behavioral model of health service use. This model seeks to understand and explain the factors influencing an individual’s use of health services. To find out which factors effect health service utilization of Georgian population the multivariate regression models will be utilized to identify and quantify associations between variables. HUES databases are reliable source for accessing the dependent variables such as health service use, and has a rich set of independent variables for:
  • 1. Predisposing factors such as demographic (age, gender, ethnicity) and social characteristics, for example education level.
    2.  Enabling factors such as income groups, insurance coverage and the availability of healthcare facilities.
    3.  Need factors such as individuals’ perception of their health and a long list of communicable as well as non-communicable diseases.

By considering these factors, researchers and healthcare professionals can gain insights into the patterns of healthcare utilization within a population. Therefore, identifying the relevant and potential influential factors on health service utilization using available literature for guidance will be a crucial first step for conducting quality research. It will be than followed up with actual quantification work in order to generate reliable results and to present valid study findings.

  Intern’s role would entail

• Interns are expected to engage on several assignments depending on their capacity, skills and interests, which includes:
  • conduct a desk-based literature review around the above-mentioned research question . The literature review will be based on the search and review articles, but where the review articles are not available, the researchers would look at the individual papers for the needed evidence, published in journals, or available from grey literature sources. The review should include all articles published in English and available online. The geographical scope should cover high-income as well as upper- and low-income countries. Interns will work closely with the CIF research team, will engage in discussions and independent variable identification. Intern will contribute to the background and discussion section of the potential research article. As an outcome intern will benefit from the co-authorship of scientific paper.

And/or

• Interns are expected to conduct quantitative data analysis, including multivariate regression analysis.. The intern will be responsible on selection of the most appropriate regression model and implement data analysis. Intern will lead method and result section development for the possible scientific paper and contribute to the discussion section. As an outcome intern will benefit from the co-authorship of scientific paper.

2. Project Title: Strengthening Health Systems for Accessible Rehabilitation Services in Georgia

Project Overview: The USAID has partnered with R4D Health Systems Strengthening Accelerator, to support countries in strengthening and integrating rehabilitation in health systems in post-conflict countries. Georgia was selected as a priority country for program support, which will entail direct technical assistance in addition to regional and global level activities to catalyze country level work. In Georgia 94% of all deaths are due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and more than a third of population (35%) experiences some form of functional disability. Country has aging population, creating a substantive, and increasing need for rehabilitation services.

CIF undertakes the above-mentioned project, which aims to improve financial protection for rehabilitation among Georgian population. The project supports the Ministry of Health to achieve the following strategic goal which is integration of state funded rehabilitation services in the UHC program.

Strategic Objectives are:

1. Integration of rehabilitation in Georgian health systems financing programs.
2. Creating support systems for implementing programs from Objective 1.

Intern’s role in project

Interns are expected to document the progress of the implemented project by conducting the review of available documents and literature. As an outcome the intern will contribute to the case study development and will benefit from the co-authorship.

Internship opportunity:

Internship program is ideal for individuals interested in health systems, rehabilitation services, and health information systems (HIS). Interns will have the opportunity to gain insights into how Georgia has integrated rehabilitation services into health systems financing programs. A significant aspect of the internship involves understanding the current state of HIS for rehabilitation in Georgia, which stands as program’s main area of emphasis.

Internship Focus:

The primary focus during the internship will be on HIS for rehabilitation. Interns are expected to:

• Collaborate with the CIF team to address research questions related to rehabilitation and HIS.
• There will be a specific emphasis on understanding the challenges and key processes in HIS within low and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared to Georgia, and on identifying actions for developing effective HIS.

Intern’s role:

• Conduct literature reviews on rehabilitation HIS in LMICs, utilizing resources such as academic journals, industry reports, case studies, and policy documents.
• Analyze collected data to identify trends, challenges, and successful strategies in rehabilitation HIS in LMICs, comparing these with insights from Georgia.
• Participate actively in discussions and brainstorming sessions to identify innovative approaches and solutions.
• Contribute to potential research article, with opportunities for co-authorship.

Requirements/Skills:

• Proficiency in conducting literature reviews and data analysis.
• Strong ability to critically assess and synthesize information.
• Effective writing and verbal communication skills for drafting paper and presenting findings.
• Capability to work effectively within a collaborative team environment.

Support offered by the Curatio International Foundation

CIF Summer Interns receive a $500 honorarium/grant. In addition, the CIF Internship Program team provides assistance with identifying affordable housing options and other logistical support and information to all incoming interns.

Application procedures and deadlines

If you are interested in the abovementioned research topics and would like to find out more about working with our research team, please submit:

1. Your resume, most updated CV.
2. Motivation letter indicating the selected research topic (from the listed above), and why you are interested in this area of work.
3. Recommendation letter from the university/professor or the employer
4. Relevant proof of evidence in order to proof your experience and capacity in conducting the similar tasks (is desired).

Interns will work closely with the CIF research team, will engage in discussions and research questions elaboration, to be answered through literature review or regression analysis.

The deadline for the application is March 22, 2024. Notification about selection will be sent within 2 weeks after the deadline. Please follow our Twitter account with the hashtag #internshipatCIF to be updated about the selection process.

For any further queries, please contact Internship Program Coordinator Maia Uchaneishvili at [email protected]

Check the call online: http://curatiofoundation.org/internship-announcement/

Applicants interested in this research topic(s), but not having proficiency in the skills required, are strongly encouraged to upgrade their practical skills prior to the internship term by enrolling in respective courses in their schools or taking online ones. Applicants will be expected to adequately reflect this weakness in their application/motivation letter and describe how they intend to advance their knowledge and skills prior to undertaking an internship. Failure to may have a negative impact on application evaluation.

We are looking forward to applications and fruitful collaboration. #internshipatCIF