Hi, my name is Ashweeta Patnaik. I’m a policy analyst who’s been working in the public health and public policy arena for the last six years. I have a Masters degree in Public Health from The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston, TX and an undergraduate degree in Life Sciences & Biochemistry from The University of Mumbai, India. I also hold the SAS Base Programmer certification.
In my current role as a researcher at the Public Policy Research Institute, I’m involved in epidemiological research, program evaluation, needs assessments for planning health services, health surveillance, survey design and SAS programming. I’m a key member of the interdisciplinary research team currently evaluating assessment instruments for long term care clients for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. I’m primarily responsible for the maintenance of a multi-year database of surveillance data from the annual statewide Texas School Survey of Drug and Alcohol Use, as well as the annual statewide Texas Youth Tobacco Survey; I’ve written advanced SAS programs to prepare reports and conduct statistical analysis of this surveillance data. I’m also a key member of the research team conducting a community needs assessment for Haskell hospital. I facilitated discussion groups at the statewide summit of stakeholders for the statewide maternal and child health needs assessment. I also facilitated community listening sessions and analyzed qualitative data for a study of Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice system in Texas. I’ve conducted field interviews and focus group of administrators and teachers at schools for an evaluation of high school reforms in Texas. I’ve been involved in the design, programming, implementation and analysis of survey instruments for a number of program evaluations, including the Safe Schools/Healthy Students program at Round Rock ISD, the Teaching American History project, the River Stewards program and the Texas A&M Survey of Academic Climate & Activities.
In my previous position at the Southwest Center for Occupational Health, I was involved in the implementation and evaluation of the Sacred Vocation Program, a workplace change program. I also interned with the Environmental Epidemiology & Injury Surveillance Group at the Texas Department of State Health Services where I led a study on the epidemiology of drowning injuries in Texas.
I have expertise in a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis methods, including regression analysis, structural equation modeling, decision tree modeling, survey design, psychometrics, reliability analysis, and text analysis. I’m experienced and credentialed in SAS programming, and highly proficient in using STATA, AMOS, SUDAAN, SAS Enterprise Miner and SPSS Text Analysis software. I’m adept at mastering and applying new software and analytical methods.
If you are interested in collaborating on any research or offering me a professional opportunity, please contact me.
