The 2-week field epidemiology course for district surveillance officers Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) district surveillance officers (DSO) course

What can adults learn? Facts  Malaria is transmitted by anopheles Skills  Investigate an outbreak with a case control study Attitudes  Skepticism is the chastity of the mind: Don’t give it up for the first hypothesis passing by

Core competencies Definition  Action-oriented statements that delineate the essential knowledge, skills and abilities in the performance of work responsibilities * Attributes  Describable  Observable  Measurable * United States Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Can you swim?

Proposes core competencies for the 2-week IDSP DSO course 1.Handle data 2.Operate surveillance for decision making 3.Respond to limited, localized outbreaks 4.Exchange within the health system 5.Monitor surveillance activities Analyze surveillance data by time, place and person Voluntary limitation in scope: Almost no analytical epidemiology / statistics

Limitations of training programmes not based on core competencies Completion of the course Successful participation in the exam Degree ?Field work ?Delivery of useful projects ?Competency

Background to the course Need to analyze/ use data at district level Need of a competency-based course Expected benefit  Address the need to analyze / use data in India  Integrate with other training programmes (2-year FETPs) Developed, pilot-tested in July 2007 and modified

Audience District surveillance officers engaged in IDSP Challenges:  Obtain persons truly involved in IDSP  Obtain technical persons

How the curriculum was prepared Core competencies defined Breakdown in instructional goals Selection of relevant learning techniques Preparation of material Organization of field work

Differences between the classroom and the field Classroom teaching  Structured  Concept-focused  Difficult to relate to field experience Field practice  Unstructured  Routine-focused  Difficult to relate to the classroom training

Bridging the gap between the classroom and the field a.Get the training out in the field during the contact sessions b.Bring the scholar back to classroom concepts when in the field

a. Get the training out in the field during the contact sessions Exercises / case studies / workshops Field exercise

Case studies (Malaria in Darjeeling) / workshops (Chikungunya in Kadapa) Principle  Solve a problem together  Direct work on a product, with facilitation Dataset Effectiveness  Real output  Facilitate peer-to-peer collaboration  Provide a taste for peer review

Field exercise Consists in a complete investigation Allows real field work Builds social capital

b. Bring the participant back to classroom concepts when in the field Direct to lectures and resources according to weaknesses Structure field tools using classroom documents Use errors to bring back concepts Use checklist to review field reports

Learning techniques used in the two- week IDSP course for district surveillance officers Learning techniquesAnalysis of surveillance data Outbreak investigation Lectures Examples Exercises  Case studies Guided practices  “How to” guides Templates Field projects 

Components of the course Participative sessions Exercises / computer practical Case studies  Malaria in Darjeeling  Chikungunya in Kadapa  Cholera in Parbatia Field exercise  Analysis of real surveillance data Pre- and post test Field assignment  Analysis of real surveillance data