Implementation of a Nationwide Knowledge-Based COVID-19 Contact Tracing Training Program, 2020

Ruebush, Elizabeth; Dennison, Amanda; Lane, J. T.; Harper-Hardy, Paris; Poulin, Amelia; Prather, Bill; Wright, Shauntā S; Harvey, David J.; Fraser, Michael R.

doi:10.1177/00333549221101327

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…This is in contrast to other training delivered to professionals during the pandemic, which was asynchronous (cf Byrd-Williams et al. , 2021; Ruebush et al. , 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…However, the type of mobilised workforce involved in this study has also been a feature of other studies (cf. Celentano et al, 2021;Ruebush et al, 2022). Indeed Reintjes (2020) described how in Germany, existing infrastructure was utilised, with experienced civil servants redeployed to public health, allowing support for new staff members.…”

Section: Motivational Interviewing Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Because of the pandemic, training was online, but notably in real time. This is in contrast to other training delivered to professionals during the pandemic, which was asynchronous (cf Byrd-Williams et al, 2021;Ruebush et al, 2022). Previous research has tended to explore benefits and limitations of face-to-face training (Schwalbe et al, 2014;Hall et al, 2016;Forrester et al, 2018;Fortune et al, 2019) and further research would be required to examine the effectiveness of remote MI delivery, particularly given that there are some activities which may not be feasible over a virtual interface (e.g.…”

Section: Motivational Interviewing Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The role of motivational interviewing training in supporting the practice of COVID-19 contact tracers

Atkinson

Barrow

Earnshaw

2023

IJHG

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PurposeTo explore how motivational interviewing (MI) training might benefit the practice of COVID-19 contact tracers.Design/methodology/approachFollowing co-production of a MI training package, with a United Kingdom (UK) track and trace organisation, training was delivered virtually to 101 volunteer participants involved in contact tracing. Data were captured via an online survey, incorporating questions from recognised measures of occupational self-efficacy and workplace wellbeing, prior to the training. Open data fields were used to gather feedback about participants' reasons for attending, and views about the training afterwards.FindingsAlthough the contact tracers reported high occupational self-efficacy and workplace wellbeing, both quantitative and qualitative data suggested participants saw practitioner value and utility in MI.Research limitations/implicationsThe sample was self-selecting and typically involved contact tracers from UK local authorities. The study did not measure impact on compliance with self-isolation guidance and/or providing details of contacts, and larger-scale research would be needed to establish this. This was not a pre-post-test evaluation study, and measures of occupational self-efficacy and workplace wellbeing were gathered to give insight into the sample and to test the feasibility of using this survey for a future large-scale study. The research was conducted during the height of the pandemic. While UK COVID-19 contact tracing services have since been reduced, there are potential implications for infection control more generally.Practical implicationsMI is potentially a useful approach for enhancing contact tracing practice. However, implementation factors should be carefully considered, to ensure effective and sustainable practice.Social implicationsImproved practice in contact tracing could have potential benefits in infection control, through improving compliance with central guidance, although this requires more widespread investigation.Originality/valueThis is the first empirical study to investigate how MI training could benefit COVID-19 contact tracing practice.

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“…This is in contrast to other training delivered to professionals during the pandemic, which was asynchronous (cf Byrd-Williams et al. , 2021; Ruebush et al. , 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Motivational Interviewing Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Motivational Interviewing Trainingmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The role of motivational interviewing training in supporting the practice of COVID-19 contact tracers

Atkinson

Barrow

Earnshaw

2023

IJHG

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…ASTHO’s no-cost Making Contact training was completed by 90 643 people during April–December 2020, demonstrating the feasibility of this method of instruction for rapidly educating a workforce responding to emergent threats. 26 …”

Section: Public Health Workforcementioning

confidence: 99%

Innovative Approaches to COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing

et al. 2022

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Until COVID-19, the greatest national public health crisis was the 1918 influenza pandemic, which was covered extensively by Public Health Reports. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Extrapolating from their knowledge of tuberculosis, public health authorities at that time exhorted ill people to remain home to break the chain of respiratory transmission. 7 Other contemporaneous appeals that reverberate a century later include "avoid needless crowding," "stay in the open air," "wear a gauze mask over the nose and mouth," and "keep away from houses where there are influenza cases." 2 In 2020, COVID-19 spurred case investigation and contact tracing at levels never seen in the United States. [8][9][10][11][12] Until vaccines, therapeutics, and SARS-CoV-2 tests became available, mitigation measures were strictly nonpharmaceutical. These included physical distancing, wearing face masks, and enhancing ventilation. In this context, state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments relied on asking people with COVID-19 to isolate and share information about close contacts (ie, case investigation) so that exposed people could be notified and asked to quarantine, ideally before they themselves became infectious (ie, contact tracing). [13][14][15][16][17] This supplemental issue of Public Health Reports provides firsthand examples of how public health departments across the United States reprioritized workflow and redirected staff to accommodate fluctuating COVID-19 incidence during 2020-2021, incorporated new partners to augment case investigation and contact tracing, evolved processes to improve outreach to disproportionately affected community groups, used digital tools for case and contact management and for proximity technology or exposure notification, and evaluated the effectiveness of these innovative strategies.

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Rapid and sustained contact tracing training for COVID-19 in San Francisco: a training model for developing an emergency public health workforce

Martin

Kalra

Jenny

et al. 2023

Front. Public Health

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The City and County of San Francisco was the first municipality in the United States to institute a COVID-19 contact tracing program. The San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) created an outcome-based fully remote contact tracing curriculum using participatory learning methods to train non-public health emergency workers as contact tracers. Between April and December 2020, we trained over 300 individuals in contact tracing skills and procedures over three training phases. Using iterative curriculum design and Kirkpatrick’s evaluation methodology, we aimed to ensure high quality and successful person-centered contact tracing. The resulting curriculum consisted of 24 learning outcomes taught with six participatory skills development activities, asynchronous materials, and one-on-one contact tracer support. We collected more than 700 responses from trainees using various evaluation tools across the training phases, and contact tracers interviewed more than 24,000 contacts after training in our program. Our evaluations showed that knowledge and skills improved for most trainees and demonstrated the utility of the training program in preparing trainees to perform person-centered contact tracing in San Francisco. Local health jurisdictions and state health agencies can use this model of curriculum development and evaluation to rapidly train a non-public health workforce to respond to future public health emergencies.

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Implementation of a Nationwide Knowledge-Based COVID-19 Contact Tracing Training Program, 2020

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

The role of motivational interviewing training in supporting the practice of COVID-19 contact tracers

The role of motivational interviewing training in supporting the practice of COVID-19 contact tracers

Innovative Approaches to COVID-19 Case Investigation and Contact Tracing

Rapid and sustained contact tracing training for COVID-19 in San Francisco: a training model for developing an emergency public health workforce

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