The Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness

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The Florida Center
for Public Health Preparedness

"Preparing the public health workforce to protect the public against current and emerging health threats, including bioterrorism"

Intermediate Field Investigator Response and Surveillance Training (IFIRST)

Program Aim
To develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities of public health workers who may be deployed on Field Epidemiology Strike Teams in order to assist local, regional, state, and national epidemiology staff in disease investigations during surge capacity.

Target Audience
Public health professionals and their community partners who may be called upon to serve on Field Epidemiology Strike Teams to assist local, regional, state, and national epidemiology staff in disease investigations during surge capacity events.

Program Goals:
•	To help participants develop an increased and improved knowledge of and skills in concepts and practices associated with responding to a BT event or public health disaster.
•	To increase the number of public health professionals capable of participating on a strike team in an outbreak investigation and resulting activities during a bioterrorism (BT) event or other public health threat.
•	To improve the capacity of the health department to respond effectively during a BT event or other public health disaster.

Pre-requisite:
Successful completion of Basic Epidemiology online program. The 4-hour online program, Basic Epidemiology, must be completed prior to registering for IFIRST.

Program Modules:
•	GI Illness of Unknown Etiology (online pre-work)
•	Avian Influenza (online pre-work)
•	GI Illness Tabletop
•	Contact Investigation Interview Techniques & Strategies
•	Avian Influenza Tabletop

Program Length: 1.3 hours online pre-work; 16 hours (2 days) on site program. Note: The training is applied and practical, and includes two tabletop exercises that require participants to apply the knowledge, and practice the skills learned.

Program Agenda:
Day 1
8:00am	Course check-in
8:15am	Course Overview
8:30am	GI Illness Tabletop Exercise
9:30am	Break
9:45am	GI Illness Tabletop Exercise (continued)
11:45am	Exercise and Pre-Work Debrief and Discussion
12:00pm	Lunch (on your own)
1:00pm	Contact Investigation Interview Techniques & Strategies
2:30pm	Break
2:45pm	Contact Investigation Interview Techniques & Strategies (continued)
4:30pm	Day 1 Debrief and Discussion
5:00pm	Adjourn
Day 2
8:00am	Course check-in
8:15am	Course Review
8:30am	Avian Influenza Tabletop Exercise
10:00am	Break
10:15am	Avian Influenza Tabletop Exercise (continued)
12:00pm	Lunch (on your own)
1:00pm	Avian Influenza Tabletop Exercise (continued)
2:30pm	Break
2:45pm	Avian Influenza Tabletop Exercise (continued)
4:15pm	Lessons Learned - Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise
4:30pm	Course Summary & Wrap-up
5:00pm	Adjourn

Continuing Education: Suwannee River AHEC (SRAHEC) has approved continuing education credit (CEC) contact hours for the following professions: Nurses: 17.5; certified health education specialists: 15; licensed mental health counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists: 17.5.

Participants in applicable professions who want credits from SRAHEC need to complete a request form at the on-site training and provide their professional license number. For more information see: www.srahec.org/fcphp_CE

In addition, the Florida Department of Health and Florida Environmental Health Association have approved this course for 16 hours of environmental health credits for individuals certified under Chapter 381.0101, F.S.

To apply for CECs, you must demonstrate successful completion of all course requirements, as evidenced by receiving a Certificate of Course Completion.

There is no fee for the CE credits.

Registration Information: This course is limited to 40 Florida Department of Health participants and those community partners who may assist the FDOH in the event of an epidemiological surge capacity event. Advanced registration is required.

Registration Fee: There is no registration fee.

Relevant Competencies for Public Health Professionals:
•	Core Competency Domain 1: Analytic/Assessment Skills
•	Core Competency Domain 3: Communication Skills
•	Core Competency Domain 4: Cultural Competency Skills
•	Core Competency Domain 6: Basic Public Health Science Skills
•	Core Competency Domain 8: Leadership and Systems Thinking Skills

Bioterrorism and Emergency Readiness Competencies
•	Core Competency 7: Identify limits to own knowledge/skills/authority and identify key system resources for referring matters that exceed these limits.
•	Core Competency 8: Recognizing unusual events that might indicate an emergency and describe appropriate action.
•	Core Competency 9: Apply creative problem solving and flexible thinking to unusual challenges within his/her functional responsibilities.

Relevant Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) Applied Competencies Skill Domain 1: Assessment and Analysis
•	Identification of public health problems pertinent to the population.
•	Conduct surveillance activities.
•	Investigation of acute or chronic conditions or other adverse outcomes in the population,
•	Application of principles of good ethical/legal practice as related to study design and data collection, dissemination, and use.
•	Manage data from surveillance, investigations, or other sources.
•	Summarize results of analysis and draw conclusions.
•	Recommendation of evidence-based interventions and control measures in response to epidemiologic findings.
Skill Domain 2: Basic Public Health Sciences
•	Use current knowledge of causes of disease to guide epidemiologic practice.
•	Use laboratory resources to support epidemiologic activities.
Skill Domain 3: Communication
•	Preparation of written and oral reports and presentations that communicate necessary information to professional audiences, policy makers, and the general public.
Skill Domain 7: Leadership and Systems Thinking
•	Promote ethical conduct in epidemiologic practice.
•	Prepare for emergency response.

Course Developers and Sponsors:
This course was developed by the Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of South Florida College of Public Health in collaboration with Florida Department of Health officials and subject matter experts. The development and delivery of this course are supported by funding from a cooperative agreement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health.

Events of the University of South Florida are available without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status as provided by law and in accordance with the University’s respect for personal dignity.

For more information see http://www.fcphp.usf.edu/ or contact us at fcphpinfo@health.usf.edu

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All rights reserved. Copyright © FCPHP, 2009. The information and illustrations are proprietary material and cannot be reproduced in any form including mechanical or electronic means without prior permission from FCPHP, Tampa, FL.

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MARCH PUBLIC
HEALTH EVENTS

• National Nutrition Month
http://www.eatright.org/

•Workplace Eye Wellness Month
http://www.preventblindness.org/

•National Endometriosis Awareness Month
http://www.endocenter.org/

• National Colorectal Cancer
Awareness Month

http://www.preventcancer.org/education3c.aspx?id=1036

• H1N1 Updates (video)
http://www.prepare.pitt.edu/

•Just-in-Time Novel H1N1 Training Resources
http://www.fcphp.usf.edu/flu_preparedness.htm

Copyright © 2010, Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness
University of South Florida, College of Public Health
13201 Bruce B. Downs Blvd. MDC Box 56
Tampa, FL 33612-3805
Contact us at: fcphpinfo@health.usf.edu