Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Programs as a Strategy to Improve Disease Surveillance and Response

Abstract

Since 1980, Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) have trained highly qualified field epidemiologists to work for ministries of health (MOH) around the world. However, the 2013–2015 Ebola epidemic in West Africa, which primarily affected Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, demonstrated a lack of field epidemiologists at the local levels. Trained epidemiologists at these levels could have detected the Ebola outbreak earlier. In 2015, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched FETP-Frontline, a 3-month field training program targeting local MOH staff in 24 countries to augment local public health capacity. As of December 2016, FETP-Frontline has trained 1,354 graduates in 24 countries. FETP-Frontline enhances global health security by training local public health staff to improve surveillance quality in their jurisdictions, which can be a valuable strategy to strengthen the capacity of countries to more rapidly detect, respond to, and contain public health emergencies at the source.

Uganda public health fellowship program’s contribution to building a resilient and sustainable public health system in Uganda

“…PHFP and the MoH are also supported by a Frontline FETP program, established by the MoH in partnership with the CDC in 2016. Frontline FETP augments disease surveillance and outbreak detection and response at the district level [16].…”

“…Much as established literature guides response to epidemics, we are aware that each outbreak is unique. Before PHFP, outbreak responses in Uganda typically had only minimal epidemiological investigation [16]. The commencement of PHFP brought systematic approaches to epidemiologic investigations in almost all outbreaks in Uganda [18][19][20].…”

Contributions of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Implementing the Global Health Security Agenda in 17 Partner Countries

“…Trainees from all countries investigated real or potential outbreaks as part of their training. Numbers of trainees per country ranged from 24 to 622; nearly half of trainees were frontline surveillance officers (16).…”

Progress and Opportunities for Strengthening Global Health Security

“…The CDC international 2-year Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) began 35 years ago and has established 65 FETP programs in 90 countries, with >3,900 graduates of the 2-year field epidemiologist training ( 24 ). To meet the global health need for more trained field epidemiologists, particularly at the district level, training has been expanded in many countries to include a 3-month FETP Frontline program ( 25 ). In 2014–2016, a total of 24 new FETP Frontline programs were initiated with >1,860 participants ( 4 ).…”