Scoping Review on the Implementation and Evaluation of Adolescent Pregnancy Policies (2000–2025)

Position type: Graduate Research Assistant
Status: Part-time/ Remote/ up to 20 hours
Period: May 1, 2025 – July 31, 2025
Pay Grade: Graduate Student Research Assistant ($18 – $20 per hour)
Application Deadline: Rolling

Summary:  The Gill-Lebovic Center for Community Health in the Caribbean and Latin America seeks a student research assistant to support a scoping review examining how public policies aimed at reducing adolescent pregnancies have been implemented and evaluated in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The review focuses on mapping policy characteristics to identify gaps and inform future policy and research.

The assistant will contribute to reviewing a wide range of literature, including peer-reviewed articles, government reports, and other policy documents, using Covidence. This is an excellent opportunity for a student interested in gaining experience with public health research, reproductive health policy, or Latin American and Caribbean development issues.

The GRA will collaborate closely with PhD student Lina Rodríguez under the supervision of Center Director Dr. Wolfgang Munar. This is a remote position, and it cannot be used to fulfill practicum requirements. No prior research experience is required. Training and regular support will be provided.

Position Summary:  The research assistant will support all stages of the literature review process, including screening records, reviewing full texts, documenting decisions, and helping to classify evidence related to adolescent pregnancy policy implementation and evaluation. They will help apply policy and implementation frameworks (such as the WHO Adolescent Reproductive Health Objectives and CFIR) to organize findings.

Tasks will be carried out in Covidence and Excel, with weekly meetings to ensure consistency, address questions, and review progress.

Specific Responsibilities

  • Screen titles and abstracts in Covidence using predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria.
  • Assist in full-text review and record reasons for exclusion.
  • Tag and classify included sources by country, policy objective, implementation characteristics, and evaluation features.
  • Help organize findings using review frameworks.
  • Contribute to data charting and summary notes for selected sources.
  • Participate in weekly meetings to report progress and receive feedback.

Deliverables

  • Screened and tagged records in Covidence with documented inclusion/exclusion decisions.
  • Spreadsheet with categorized list of included sources by country, policy focus, and implementation features.
  • Summary notes on key articles or documents.
  • Regular progress updates and active participation in weekly check-ins.

Qualifications

  • Attention to detail and strong organizational skills
  • Ability to work independently and collaboratively
  • Willingness to learn and follow instructions
  • No prior experience required; training will be provided

Preferred (but not required)

  • Spanish and/or Portuguese language skills
  • Interest in adolescent health, Latin America and the Caribbean, or public policy

To apply:

Please send a brief statement of interest and a CV or resume to lina [dot] rodriguezatgwmail [dot] gwu [dot] edu