Case Study 1: Outbreak Investigation

The reader assumes the role of a Provincial Surveillance Officer who works with nurses in the field to determine the cause of a cluster of fever cases. The case study covers the steps to confirm the diagnosis, make and apply a case definition, gather further data about the outbreak, construct a line list, analyse the outbreak data by time, place and person, and then share the results with colleagues in health promotion and environmental health for effective control of the outbreak.

Case Study 2: Epidemiological Concepts

The case study follows a national level field epidemiologist over a one year period following the cyclone, exploring a range of different outbreaks on different islands. The key concepts covered include incubation and infectious periods, modes of transmission, understanding the host-agent-environment interface and vaccination and immunity.

Case Study 3: Public Health Surveillance

The case study follows the steps in the surveillance cycle from data collection, management, analysis and dissemination to public health action. Some surveillance artefacts are uncovered, as well as a worrying cluster of severe influenza-like illness in some animal health workers and their families.

Coming Soon

Case Study 4: Operational Research

Case Study 5: Public Health Interventions

These resources were produced by Field Epidemiology in Action for use by field epidemiology training program (FETP) fellows in Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands. We also gladly share this with the broader field epidemiology community, and welcome people sharing these resources with their colleagues. Having shared language and understanding are important components in working effectively as a team; we hope that these resources can be a useful tool to aid effective team communication.