Developing a workshop on foodborne-disease epidemiology and surveillance training. (NEHA News).

The NEHA Epidemiology Training and Development Committee held its inaugural meeting on March 12-13, 2003, at offices of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Decatur, Georgia. The meeting was attended not only by all committee members, but also by several representatives from CDC, who participated in some very productive discussion sessions. As a result, the committee unanimously agreed on the following:

* An existing epidemiology training program developed by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and the Michigan Department of Community Health, titled F.I.R.S.T.--Foodborne Illness Response Strategy, will serve as the model for the new NEHA program. (Mark Schmidt, who is a communicable-disease epidemiologist for the Michigan Department of Community Health and currently teaches F.I.R.S.T. training in Michigan, has agreed to serve as principle speaker for the new NEHA program, with co-presenter support coming from the committee.)

* The NEHA program will take the form of a hands-on two-day workshop that combines lectures, handout materials, and group exercises.

* The workshop will be an "expense-free" training available to all environmental health professionals, and the selection process will be similar to that used for the highly successful NEHA Radon and IAQ training opportunities.

* The inaugural pilot workshop will be conducted in late summer or early fall (September-October) of 2003 in Atlanta, Georgia with future training opportunities planned for locations throughout NEHA affiliate regions.

At the conclusion of the committee meeting, individual members were assigned to one of three subcommittee work groups: curriculum, training, or outreach/promotion. The curriculum committee work group is charged with determining what materials will be used, the training committee work group is charged with determining how best to present those materials, and the outreach/promotion committee work group is charged with deciding how to promote the training and to whom.

In an effort to ensure sustainability for those receiving the epidemiology training, NEHA is discussing the use of distance-education learning tools, periodic mailing of resource materials, and the development (and facilitation) of a password-protected online "epi" community. This virtual community would allow those who have participated in the NEHA workshop to discuss topics (and outbreaks) of interest in the field of epidemiology.

For more information on this program (or to contribute your ideas or thoughts), please contact Tom Dickey, project coordinator, by telephone at [phone] or by e-mail at [e-mail]. Or contact Kristin Benn, project specialist, by telephone at [phone], extension 342, or by e-mail at [e-mail].