Thacker S B, Mayberry R M, Herndon J L, Warren R C
Epidemiology Program Office, Centers for Disease Control, Atlanta, GA 30333.
Public Health Rep. 1992 Nov-Dec;107(6):718-23.
A survey was conducted to improve the recruitment, training, and retention of epidemiologists in the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) Program of the Centers for Disease Control. The authors compared minority graduates of the program and nonminority graduates in several areas: reasons for application, degree of satisfaction, appropriateness of preparation for epidemiologic practice, and current professional activities. A closed-ended questionnaire was mailed to all 87 minority graduates from the program during the period 1970-88, and to 172 randomly selected nonminority graduates. Of 259 graduates surveyed, 234 or 90.3 percent returned the questionnaire--89.6 percent of minority graduates and 90.7 percent of nonminority graduates. Virtually all graduates were satisfied with their EIS experience (95.2 percent), have encouraged others to apply (96.1 percent), and are the most frequent sources of initial contact of prospective officers (38.2 percent). Most EIS graduates (71.2 percent) were still working in epidemiology. Compared with the nonminority graduates, the minority graduates were more likely to be women and to be single. Minority graduates were less likely than non minorities to hold academic appointments (44.2 percent versus 60.0 percent) and less likely to work in academic settings as their primary job (11.5 percent versus 18.7 percent). At the same time, minority graduates were more likely to have learned of the EIS Program from academic advisors (32.1 percent versus 19.4 percent). Graduates express high levels of satisfaction with the EIS Program and continue to practice epidemiology following graduation. Few differences between the minority and nonminority graduates were found. Because fewer minority graduates are in academic settings to serve as mentors or role models, alternative recruitment methods must be developed to sustain a high level of interest among minority groups in the EIS Program.
为了改进疾病控制中心疫情情报服务（EIS）项目中流行病学家的招募、培训和留用情况，开展了一项调查。作者在几个方面对该项目的少数族裔毕业生和非少数族裔毕业生进行了比较：申请原因、满意度、流行病学实践准备的适宜性以及当前的专业活动。一份封闭式问卷被邮寄给了1970年至1988年期间该项目的所有87名少数族裔毕业生，以及172名随机挑选的非少数族裔毕业生。在接受调查的259名毕业生中，234名（90.3%）回复了问卷——少数族裔毕业生的回复率为89.6%，非少数族裔毕业生的回复率为90.7%。几乎所有毕业生都对他们在EIS的经历感到满意（95.2%），鼓励其他人申请（96.1%），并且是未来官员最初联系的最主要来源（38.2%）。大多数EIS毕业生（71.2%）仍在从事流行病学工作。与非少数族裔毕业生相比，少数族裔毕业生更可能是女性且单身。少数族裔毕业生担任学术职务的可能性低于非少数族裔（44.2%对60.0%），以学术机构为主要工作场所的可能性也低于非少数族裔（11.5%对18.7%）。与此同时，少数族裔毕业生从学术顾问那里了解到EIS项目的可能性更大（32.1%对19.4%）。毕业生对EIS项目表示高度满意，毕业后继续从事流行病学工作。少数族裔和非少数族裔毕业生之间几乎没有发现差异。由于在学术机构中担任导师或榜样的少数族裔毕业生较少，必须开发其他招募方法，以保持少数群体对EIS项目的高度兴趣。
