Al Nsour Mohannad, Khasawneh Ghena, Khader Yousef, Bashier Haitham
The Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network, Amman, Jordan.
Department of Public Health, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Front Epidemiol. 2024 Jun 27;4:1376071. doi: 10.3389/fepid.2024.1376071. eCollection 2024.
Field Epidemiology Training Programs (FETPs) are competency-based training programs that play a critical role in strengthening global health security and enhancing the epidemiological capabilities of public health professionals. This scoping review examined available published literature on the evaluations of FETPs globally.
A literature review was conducted to evaluate FETPs globally. Keywords specific to the evaluation of FETPs were utilized to search the PubMed, Scopus, and Web Science databases. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 relevant studies from an initial pool of 60 were included in this study. Data extraction included key details, and a qualitative synthesis organized diverse findings using a narrative approach to draw appropriate conclusions and generate recommendations.
The review covered findings from 12 studies covering all three FETP modalities and spanning countries in various regions. Evaluations explored gained skills, engagement in FETP activities, and improvements in field epidemiological functions. Gained skills and knowledge, engagement in FETP activities, and improvements in field epidemiological functions were evident, with specific expectations for each FETP tier. Positive outcomes were consistent across studies, revealing improvements in surveillance activities, outbreak response, data management, and other system functions.
This review confirmed the positive impact of FETPs on trainees and graduates, which emphasized competency enhancements across different modalities. Various strategies are recommended to improve the evaluation of FETPs. For effective evaluation, it is necessary to develop robust evaluation tools and establish standardized metrics to compare FETPs across regions or countries.
现场流行病学培训项目（FETPs）是基于能力的培训项目，在加强全球卫生安全和提高公共卫生专业人员的流行病学能力方面发挥着关键作用。本范围综述研究了全球范围内已发表的关于FETPs评估的文献。
进行了一项文献综述以评估全球的FETPs。使用特定于FETPs评估的关键词在PubMed、Scopus和Web of Science数据库中进行检索。在应用纳入和排除标准后，本研究纳入了最初60篇文献中的12篇相关研究。数据提取包括关键细节，并采用叙述性方法进行定性综合，以整理不同的研究结果，得出适当结论并提出建议。
该综述涵盖了12项研究的结果，这些研究涵盖了所有三种FETP模式，并涉及不同地区的多个国家。评估探讨了所获得的技能、参与FETP活动的情况以及现场流行病学功能的改善。所获得的技能和知识、参与FETP活动的情况以及现场流行病学功能的改善是明显的，对每个FETP级别都有具体期望。各项研究的积极结果一致，显示出监测活动、疫情应对、数据管理和其他系统功能有所改善。
本综述证实了FETPs对学员和毕业生的积极影响，强调了不同模式下能力的提升。建议采用各种策略来改进FETPs的评估。为了进行有效的评估，有必要开发强大的评估工具并建立标准化指标，以便在不同地区或国家之间比较FETPs。
