Epidemiology competency development and application to training for local and regional public health practitioners.
In 2002, the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) at the University of Washington initiated the Epidemiology Competencies Project, with the goal of developing competency-based epidemiology training for non-epidemiologist public health practitioners in the northwestern United States. An advisory committee consisting of epidemiology faculty and experienced public health practitioners developed the epidemiology competencies. NWCPHP used the competencies to guide the development of in-person trainings, a series of online epidemiology modules, and a Web-based repository of epidemiology teaching materials. The epidemiology competencies provided a framework for collaborative work between NWCPHP and local and regional public health partners to develop trainings that best met the needs of a particular public health organization. Evaluation surveys indicated a high level of satisfaction with the online epidemiology modules developed from the epidemiology competencies. However, measuring the effectiveness of competency-based epidemiology training for expanding epidemiology knowledge and skills of the public health workforce remains a challenge.
Baseman
Janet G
JG
Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Seattle, WA 98195, USA. jbaseman@u.washington.edu
Marsden-Haug
Nicola
N
Holt
Victoria L
VL
Stergachis
Andy
A
Goldoft
Marcia
M
Gale
James L
JL
D003162:Competency-Based Education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D020375:Education, Distance; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004813:Epidemiology / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D015205:Northwestern United States; D011361:Professional Competence / Q000592:standards*; D015980:Public Health Practice / Q000592:standards*