UNC CPHP Collaboration with CDC’s Field Epidemiology Training Program
History
In 2006, the University of North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness (UNC CPHP) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health began a partnership with the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) and the CDC Regional Office for Central America and Panama to develop a comprehensive field epidemiology training curriculum through a 4-year cooperative agreement from the Association of Schools of Public Health and the CDC Coordinating Office of Global Health.
UNC CPHP developed a complete competency-based 3-tiered curriculum that includes basic, intermediate, and advanced levels, as well as materials to train mentors of trainees. The 3-tiered curriculum is the foundation of the Central America Field Epidemiology Training Program (CA-FETP). Additionally, the advanced curriculum is the cornerstone of UVG’s associated masters of public health (MPH) program.
The following modules were developed for this project.
- Six 1- to 3-week training courses for the MPH Advanced FETP curriculum, including 5 classroom-based modules with 6 distance-based components, plus a 1-week module designed for distance-based delivery (Spanish and English)
- Nine 1-week modules for the classroom-based Intermediate FETP curriculum (English)
- Five 3-day modules for the classroom-based Basic FETP curriculum (English)
- A 40-hour distance-based Mentors FETP curriculum (Spanish)
In addition, UNC CPHP developed a distance-based learning readiness assessment to determine readiness of the target audience to engage in e-learning. The products from this project can be used by other FETPs throughout the world as an example of a comprehensive, competency-based field epidemiology training program.
Funded by: Association of Schools of Public Health-CDC cooperative agreement S3698-25/2, Strengthening Field Epidemiology Practice in Central America through Academic PartnershipCurrent Collaboration
In 2010, UNC CPHP has continued its partnership with the CDC’s Division of Public Health Systems and Workforce Development/Field Epidemiology Training Program through a new cooperative agreement to develop web-based training materials for FETPs.
Projects completed in year one of the cooperative agreement (2010-2011):
- Translation of the 9-module distance-based Mentors FETP curriculum into English
- Development of several non-communicable disease-focused modules to be used by FETP programs throughout the world
- Development of an 8-module Intermediate FETP curriculum for FETP Haiti
Current projects for year two (2011-2012) include:
- Developing a module on epidemiological response to natural disasters in Central America to be added to the Basic, Intermediate, and MPH Advanced FETP curricula
- Updating materials for the 2011-2013 cohort of the MPH Advanced FETP curriculum
- Developing a reference guide that demonstrates Basic and Intermediate FETP prerequisites, the preparation needed, and resources available for each module of the MPH Advanced FETP curriculum
- Developing a question bank of 50-100 questions for each module of the MPH Advanced FETP curriculum
- Developing a workshop focused on Evidence-Based Public Health Decision Making as an add-on to the Intermediate FETP curriculum in Haiti