Applied Epidemiology Competencies for Governmental Public Health Agencies: Mapping Current Curriculum and the Development of New Curriculum

摘要

As discussed in this issue, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) recendy developed Competencies for Applied Epidemiologists in Governmental Public Health Agencies (AECs).1'2 These detailed practice competencies are designed to provide guidance about knowledge and skills useful for a range of applied epidemiology positions, from entry-level (Tier 1), to mid-level (Tier 2), to senior epidemiology management (Tier 3a), and scientific positions (Tier 3b), with a goal of building epidemiology workforce capacity.Upon completion of the AECs, officials at CDC and leadership at the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) initiated a series of discussions in 2006 to explore how the practice competencies were being used in the schools of public health (SPHs). The discussants agreed to contact ASPH's Epidemiology and Biostatistics Council to identify members who would be willing to develop a bridge between the Tier 1 AECs and the epidemiology components of Master of Public Health (MPH) and Master of Science (MS) curricula, with the understanding that some new curricula might need to be developed to fill possible identified gaps.