Research Assistant II MAP Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (Job ID: 9302)
The Centre on Drug Policy Evaluation (CDPE) (www.cdpe.org), located within MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions at St. Michael's Hospital, strives to improve community health and safety by conducting research and outreach on best practices in drug policy. Working collaboratively with government, practitioners, civil society, and affected communities, the CDPE guides effective and evidence-based policy responses to substance use.
The CDPE is recruiting a research assistant II. The research assistant will hold a full-time permanent position at St. Michael's Hospital (37.5 hours per week). This is an in-person position based out of several community health centers across Toronto (in-person).
Candidates who self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Métis, Inuit, and other Indigenous communities/identities, including Two-Spirit), Black (including African, Caribbean, or other African diasporic backgrounds), or of mixed Indigenous and Black ancestry are encouraged to apply, as these identities would be considered an asset.
The primary responsibilities of the research assistant will be to recruit and interview participants of the Toronto Disparities, Overdose, and Treatment (T-DOT) study, a longitudinal cohort study of people who use drugs in Toronto. Community-based interviews are currently being conducted for the following studies:
1. A study to examine people's experiences with harm reduction hubs (e.g., sites that include a mix of supervised injection services, drug checking services, safer supply, and health and social service referrals) in Toronto over time, and the impact these services have on the health and social well-being of different communities of people who use drugs.
2. A study to evaluate safer supply programs and injectable opioid agonist programs being implemented at partnering community health agencies in the downtown core.
3. A study providing HCV and HIV point-of-care testing (POCT) and linkage to care intervention for T-DOT participants
Responsibilities:
- Act as the on-site point of contact for the studies at participating community organizations
- Recruit study participants, in collaboration with staff at participating community organizations
- Obtain informed consent from study participants
- Administer quantitative surveys to study participants at participating community organizations using online survey tool (data collection)
- Facilitate compensation of study participants
- Support the retention of study participants
- Manage study documentation, including study logs, honoraria logs, consent forms, etc.
- Adhere to research requirements as per the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2) and Good Clinical Practice (GCP)
- Provide project assistance and data-related administrative support to the study team as required
- Act in a warm and non-judgmental manner, and consistently demonstrate interpersonal tact, discretion, and sensitivity when interacting with study participants.
- Comply with study protocols and guidelines, with an emphasis on communication and organizational skills.
Qualifications and skills:
- Undergraduate Degree and 1 year of relevant experience, OR demonstrable equivalent combination of specialized education and experience
- A minimum of one-year experience working with people who use drugs
- Experience conducting community-based interviews
- Firm understanding of issues experienced by people who use drugs gained through lived and/or professional experience
- Experience working with blood borne infections an asset (HIV, Hep C)
- Strong engagement with Toronto's harm reduction community an asset
- Demonstrated ability to work independently
- Superior organizational and time management skills
- Strong oral communications skills
- Excellent data entry skills with high attention to detail
- Fully proficient in the use of MS Office software
- Position requires flexibility to:
- Travel between St. Michael's Hospital and participating community organizations
- Work flexible hours
Unity Health Toronto is committed to creating an accessible and inclusive organization. We strive to provide a recruitment process that is barrier-free and in compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. We understand that you may require an accommodation at any stage of the recruitment process. When you are contacted, please inform the Talent Acquisition Specialist and we will work with you to meet your accommodation needs. We want to emphasize that all accommodation requests are handled with the utmost confidentiality, respecting your privacy and dignity.
We wish to acknowledge the sacred land on which CDPE and Unity Health Toronto operate. It has been a site of human activity for 15,000 years. This land is the territory of the Huron-Wendat and Petun First Nations, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The territory was the subject of the Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt Covenant, an agreement between the Iroquois Confederacy and Confederacy of the Ojibwe and allied nations to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. Today, the meeting place of Toronto is still the home of many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work in the community, on this territory. We are also mindful of broken covenants and the need to strive to make right with all our relations.
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