Division of Global Public Health Capacity Development, Coordinating Office for Global Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Road MS E-93, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
Hum Resour Health. 2008 Dec 16;6:27. doi: 10.1186/1478-4491-6-27.
The Central America Field Epidemiology Training Program (CA FETP) is a public health capacity-building training programme aimed at developing high-caliber field epidemiologists at various levels of the public health system. It began in 2000 as part of the effort to rebuild public health infrastructure in six Central American and Caribbean countries following the devastation of Hurricanes Mitch and Georges in late 1998. Since then, the CA FETP has evolved from one regional training programme managed by CDC to several national FETPs with each country assuming ownership of its domestic programme. The curriculum is competency-based, and is divided into a three-tiered training pyramid that corresponds to the needs at the local, district and central levels of the health system. Trainees at each tier spend about 20% of their time in the classroom and 80% in the field implementing what they have learned while being mentored by graduates of the programme. FETP trainees have responded to multiple natural disasters and conducted hundreds of investigations including surveillance evaluations, outbreak responses and planned studies. Also graduates of the CA FETP are assuming influential positions in their respective ministries. As countries meet the challenge of institutionalizing their programmes, the CA FETP concept will increasingly be recognized as a model for sustainable public health capacity development.
中美洲现场流行病学培训项目（CAFETP）是一个公共卫生能力建设培训项目，旨在培养各级公共卫生系统的高水平现场流行病学家。该项目于 2000 年启动，是为了在 1998 年底飓风米奇和乔治斯摧毁六个中美洲和加勒比国家的公共卫生基础设施之后，重建这些国家的公共卫生基础设施。自那时以来，CAFETP 已经从由美国疾病控制与预防中心管理的一个区域培训项目发展成为几个国家的现场流行病学培训项目，每个国家都拥有自己的国内项目。该课程以能力为基础，分为三层培训金字塔，分别对应于卫生系统的地方、地区和中央各级的需求。每个层次的学员大约有 20%的时间在课堂上，80%的时间在实地实施他们所学的知识，同时由该项目的毕业生指导。FETP 的学员已经应对了多次自然灾害，并进行了数百次调查，包括监测评估、疫情应对和计划研究。此外，CAFETP 的毕业生在各自的部委中担任有影响力的职位。随着各国面临将其方案制度化的挑战，CAFETP 的概念将越来越被视为可持续公共卫生能力发展的模式。
