Data Abstractor - Contractor

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is seeking to hire a temporary contractor to provide support to the Office of Statistics and Evaluation (OSE) to support statewide implementation of cross-cutting approaches to promote health and prevent injuries and associated risk factors. This position will primarily support the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention’s (BCHAP) Injury Surveillance Program (ISP) efforts to collect data on injuries and deaths related to homicides, suicides, and/or unintentional drug overdoses. This will include collecting data from documents such as death certificates, medical examiner reports, and police reports; performing data quality control; and meeting reporting requirements for federally funded cooperative agreements. This position will involve the use of confidential data, and signing a confidentiality agreement will be required.  This is a hybrid position with some work required at one of the DPH office locations regularly.

Duties and Responsibilities (these duties are a general summary and not all inclusive):

• Collect, review, abstract, and code information from medical examiner reports, death certificates, police reports, and supplemental data sources on unintentional drug overdose-related deaths.
• Act as project liaison with external and internal data providers, users, and stakeholders.
• Assist in the creation and formatting of data dissemination products.
• Conduct data quality control activities.
• Maintain a database to track the progress of data abstraction.
• Provide research and administrative support to the program supervisor and epidemiologists.
• Attend training on the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) and State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) data coding systems.
• Participate in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) communications related to data coding.
• Work closely with other abstractors in the Injury Surveillance Program (ISP).
• Attend staff and other injury-related meetings, as required.
• Perform related duties essential to injury/overdose surveillance, BCHAP priorities, and DPH priorities, as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Ability to follow written and oral instructions, and to communicate effectively in oral expression.
• Means to establish and maintain harmonious working relationships with others and establish a rapport with others and to deal tactfully with others.
• Ability to adjust to varying and changing situations to meet emergency or changing program requirements.
• Applicants with an understanding of equity and its impact on access to resources and health are strongly preferred.
• Knowledge and understanding of qualitative data collection and analysis.
• Experience working with medical records.
• Exceptional communication skills.
• Experienced working in groups and collaborating with others.
• Ability to independently coordinate projects and activities.
• Willingness to learn new technical skills (e.g., GIS mapping software, propensity scoring).
• Proven oral and written communication skills required.

Period of Service: 01/01/2026 through 06/30/2026

Salary/Fee

Hourly Rate: $30-$40

Additional Information:

Benefits are unavailable with the exception of sick leave accruals.

Merit and C.O.L.A. increases may be included.

Contracts are renewable, subject to the Department approval, performance, and allocation of funds.

All employees will be paid on a biweekly basis and must have direct deposit.

About the Department of Public Health:

The mission of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) is to prevent illness, injury, and premature death, to assure access to high quality public health and health care services, and to promote wellness and health equity for all people in the Commonwealth.
 
We envision a Commonwealth in which all people en