Skip to Main Content

Real World Application of Public Health Skills and Training

When you enroll at the Yale School of Public Health, you'll hear a lot about the Applied Practice Experience (APE) requirement. Whether you complete this immersive experience through an internship, independent project, or a practicum course, they are carefully planned, supported and evaluated by our practice and career management staff. This experience provides robust opportunities for the real-world application of public health knowledge and skills and support your career goals. Many students report inspiring, life changing experiences from their time around the world and in local settings.

Applied Practice Experiences

Sample practicum projects

  • Utilize the Displacement Tracking Matrix for The International Organization for Migration and the Center for Disease Control. The data on global population movement will be used to develop methods and platforms that track the relationship between population movements within and across borders and the resulting impact on COVID-19 transmission.
  • Assess federal policies while conducting key informant interviews to improve the inclusion of women, racial and ethnic minorities, and people of diverse ages in clinical trials and research for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
  • In partnership with Clifford Beers Clinic and United Way of Greater New Haven, evaluate the success of the New Haven Learning Hubs, utilized to assist families with online schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. Information gathered will be used to develop action plans to assist the community in the future.

Recent internships

  • Elevate a Yale Policy Lab: Brief on the Centene Project (Replication of the MOMS Partnership ® with Centene in Ohio)
  • Justice, Housing, and Health Study: Essential Workers During COVID-19; Perceptions of Police among New Haven Residents
  • Hunter College New York City Food Policy Center: Foodscape Reports and The Coronavirus NYC Neighborhood Food Resource Guides
  • Yale Community Alliance for Research and Engagement: Improving Health Equity and Food Security
  • All Our Kin: Early Head Start (Strengthening family partnership initiatives while centering on equity, inclusion, and justice)
rev. 8.10.2021

Student Research

Contributing to science is important to many of our students and opportunities for research abound at Yale. Many students use their summer internship to do research that culminates in the MPH thesis required by this department. Others work with faculty labs and research teams to access data and formulate their analysis. In addition many students work as research assistants at the Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, Yale New Haven Hospital or the VA on faculty research, culminating in peer review publications.

Recent Thesis Topics

2021

  • How Knowledge, Perception, and Identity Influence COVID-19-Related Concerns in the Built Environment
  • Wholesome Wave: Impact Evaluation Report for the Depth2020 Fruit and Vegetable Incentive Program
  • ‘I’m Never Saying a Damn word Again’: Approaches to Community Support and Help Seeking among Black Youth Experiencing Suicidal Thoughts
  • “We are left alone”: A Qualitative Study of Life Satisfaction of Older Adults in Rural Nepal
  • An Examination of the Multilevel Determinants of Homelessness
  • Prevalence and Health Burden of Cardiovascular Disease in Older U.S. Veterans: Results from the 2019-2020 National Health and Resilience in Veterans Study
  • Impact of COVID-19 on Participants of a Fruit and Vegetable Program
  • Informational Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention Modules for The Bandana Project
  • Association between Maternal Stress and Parental Responses to Child Development as Measured by HPA Axis Biomarkers
  • Exploring Toddler Sleep Disparities Using Spatial Analytic Methods
  • Navigating Stigma in Family Treatment Court: A Qualitative Analysis
  • DreamKit: An Innovative Mobile Health Intervention for Addressing Youth Homelessness
  • Caesarean Delivery among Women of Color is Associated with Risk of Early Childhood Developmental Delays in Brazil
  • An Exploration of Race Differences in Network Exposures to Mass Incarceration
  • An Opportunity to Study the Impact of Legal Structures on Public Health: A Review of Michigan State Juvenile Law on Status Offenders
  • Factors Associated with Early Childhood Development Outcomes for Children of Adolescent and Young Adult Mothers in Brazil
  • (De)Constructing the Grocery Store: An Ethnographic Examination of Spatial Characteristics and their Implications for Social Inclusion
  • Is Now the Time for Supervised Consumption in New Haven? Assessing the Complexities of Global Examples, National Efforts, and City Contexts to Support the Progress of Local Harm Reduction
  • The Impact of Economic Intimate Partner Violence on Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health in Asia & the Pacific
  • The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on People with Disabilities: Pandemic-Related Stress and Contribution to the Disability Community as Predictors of Posttraumatic Growth
  • Healthcare Provider Perspectives on the Influence of Cultural Beliefs on Infant and Young Child Feeding Practices within Ghanaian Refugee Camps: A Qualitative Analysis
  • Psychosocial Mechanisms of Historical Trauma Transmission in Native American communities: A Rapid Scoping Review
  • Uniting the Front: A Qualitative Exploration of the Community Health Worker COVID-19 Pandemic Response in Connecticut
  • What Will Be Enough? Suicide Prevention Challenges of a Parking Garage
  • The Bandana Project: Program Evaluation Plan
  • A Qualitative Analysis of Facilitators and Barriers to Breastfeeding Among Black Mothers in the Greater New Haven Area
  • Too Fast, Too Furious: Slaughterhouse Line Speeds in the Era of Covid-19

2020

  • Agora Good Life, Inc.
  • Structural Racism: A Fundamental Cause of Social Determinants of Health Inequalities in Indiana
  • Self-Directed Behavioral Interventions for Health Promotion Among Graduate Students
  • Marketing of (BMS): Content analysis of breast milk substitutes digital marketing on Chinese e-commerce platforms
  • Association Between Opening a Jail and Sexually Transmitted Infections in Rural Counties Across the United States
  • Functional, Motivational and Emotional Support: A Qualitative Study of Social Influences on Diabetes Management Among Low-Income Adults
  • A Review of Mental Health Screening Tools Used in Disaster Research
  • Downstream Impacts of Racial Discrimination in US-born and Foreign-born Latinxs
  • Development of a Comprehensive Sexual Education Curriculum for a Private, Independent Day School for Students Pre-K through 8th Grade
  • A feel for the space: Engagement with the built environment of treatment spaces among individuals in recovery
  • Personalized Multimedia Videos as Reminiscence Therapy for Persons with Dementia
  • Tobacco Use, Knowledge of Tobacco Risks, and Perception of Smoking Behaviors Among Urban and Rural Youth in South Sulawesi, Indonesia
  • Acknowledgment of sexual violence and mental health among college students
  • Caregiver Support and the Mental Health of Transgender and Gender Expansive Youth: Race-Specific Effects in a Clinic-based Sample
  • Confidentiality in the Clinic: A Qualitative Analysis of Adolescent Girls’ Experiences of Confidentiality in Sexual and Reproductive Health Care
  • Associations between Campus Bathroom Use and Mental Health among Gender Minority and Cisgender Students
  • The Effects of Rental Assistance on Housing Stability, Quality, Autonomy and Affordability
  • Medical Student Mistreatment and Burnout: An Intersectional Approach
  • Evaluating the Appropriateness of Oral Antibiotic Therapy Following Discharge for Patients with Urinary Tract Infection
  • “Malicious Medicine”: A Qualitative Study of Medical Mistrust and PrEP Perceptions for African American and Hispanic Men and Women in New Haven, CT
  • Experiences and Beliefs About Violence and Sexual Health: A qualitative analysis of the experiences of female migrant Lao workers at the border of Thailand and Laos
  • Relationship Between Food Craving and Food Selection
  • “You’re not gonna get any help, no matter how hard you try” A Qualitative Analysis of “Severity” as a Barrier to Mental Health Care
  • A Qualitative Analysis on the Transitions of Afghan Refugee Families to the U.S. and Their Parenting Experiences
  • Racialized Masculinities in the Sexual Field: A Latent Profile Analysis of Gay Community Stressors
  • Major depression among immigrants: Findings from the NIS-2003
  • Management of Opioid Tapering with a Mobile App Among Veterans
  • The effect of childhood maternal trauma experienced before the age of 18 on young adolescent children ages 8-15
  • An Evaluation Plan for Immunization Demand Generation in Rotating Savings and Credit Associations in Ethiopia and Cameroon Using Human-Centered Design
  • Provider Experiences Implementing Group Care: A Qualitative Study
  • The Association of Parental Religious Affiliation and Their LGBTQ Children’s Mental Health: A Study of Parents

2019

  • “Throwing drops of water at a wildfire”: Patient and provider strategies for navigating housing instability and type 2 diabetes
  • “We would’ve had so many options” Network Capital, Social Exchanges, and the Aging Experience
  • Addressing Racial Health Inequities in San Francisco: A qualitative research project with the Maternal Child and Adolescent Health (MCAH) section of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH)
  • An Opportunity for Research in the Age of Mass Incarceration: The Association Between Prison Release Rate and HIV Incidence Rates by Sex, 2008-2016
  • Assessing Managerial Accountability in Ethiopia's Primary Healthcare System
  • Association of Alcohol Use Disorder on HIV Correlates, Testing, and HIV Status among MSM in Ukraine
  • Attachment Security and Psychological Health in Adult Child Caregivers and Their Parents with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias
  • Barriers to Healthy Eating among Working Women in Malaysia
  • Carrying Pebbles: Toward Trauma Informed Theater with Emergency Medical Responders
  • Changing body size perceptions among Samoan adults: the view across two decades
  • Connecticut Thrives: Reimagining Community Health Workers - A Gap Analysis for Pediatric Behavioral Health in Connecticut and Proposed Workforce Recommendations
  • Coping with a White Campus: Understanding the Impact of Campus Demographics on the Mental Health of Racial and Ethnic Minority Students
  • Development and Evaluation of a Clinical Quality Scorecard for Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center
  • Differential Effects of Medicaid Expansion on Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Primary Care Access
  • Entrapment and the Emergency Department
  • Estimating Mortality after natural disasters in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review
  • Evaluation of a Patient Navigation Program for Vulnerable Families
  • Feasibility of Augmenting Brief Interventions with Text Messaging to Reduce Adolescent Alcohol and Marijuana Use: A Pilot Study
  • Food Insecurity and Youth Homelessness: A Qualitative Approach to Understanding Barriers and Strategies of Food Obtainment
  • How Relationships Shape Financial Decisions for Low-Income Adults with Serious Mental Illness
  • Impacts of Hepatitis C Virus Infection Treatment for Patients in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder
  • Influence of Caregiver Sociodemographic Characteristics and Child Sleep Location on Toddlers’ Bedtimes
  • Intergenerational Effect of Adverse Birth Outcomes of Parents and Offspring Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) risk in Denmark: A Population-based Cohort Study
  • Is my neighborhood a good place to live? Associations between neighborhood reputation and health
  • Maternal Health & Rights in Uganda
  • Mobile Technology and Cancer in Rural Populations - A Systematic Review
  • Old & Sexy: Investigating and Reducing Stigmatization of Sexually-Active Older Persons
  • Older Adult Spouses’ Emotional Responses to Reminiscing about Their First Encounter: Associations with Mental Health, Marital Satisfaction, and Cardiovascular Reactivity
  • Perspectives of Community Based Organizations on Research Capacity and Engagement: A Qualitative Analysis
  • Perspectives of Type 2 Diabetes Patients on Their Interactions with Providers
  • Predictors of participation in Group Well Child Care: Where do we go from here?
  • PrEP uptake, adherence, and persistence: Qualitative interviews with Women Experiencing IPV, IPV Service Providers, and Healthcare Providers
  • Putting the T in MLP: The Role of Trust in Medical Legal Partnerships
  • SAFER Well Water: Exploring Environmental Screening Efforts for Family Child Care Homes
  • Strategizing to Navigate Food Access Barriers: Diabetes Management Among Low-income Adults
  • Strengthening Maternal, Infant and Young Child Feeding Training and Education Delivery in Ghana
  • Substance Use in Lebanon: Perceptions of Key Stakeholders
  • The Sexual and Reproductive Rights of Women with Developmental Disabilities: A Critical Analysis of the Public Health Research Globally
  • Violence and Postpartum Drug Abstinence among Substance-Using Mothers
  • What Does it Meme? A Qualitative Analysis of Adolescents’ Perceptions of Tobacco and Marijuana Messaging
  • Wholesome Wave Communities Market Approach