Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link
Volume 28, Supplement—December 2022
SUPPLEMENT ISSUE
Workforce

India Field Epidemiology Training Program Response to COVID-19 Pandemic, 2020–2021

Sujeet Kumar Singh, Tanzin Dikid, Meera Dhuria, Arti Bahl, Ramesh Chandra, Thandayamparambil Pradeep Vaisakh, Surendra Mohan Prajapati, Nishant Nirwan, Lipsy Paul, Manoj Murhekar, Prabhdeep Kaur, Ganeshkumar Parasuraman, Prashant Bhat, Sheila Longkumer, Kevisetuo Anthony Dzeyie, Pankaj Bhatnagar, Nhu Nguyen Tran Minh, Sukarma Tanwar, Rajesh Yadav, and Meghna DesaiComments to Author 
Author affiliations: National Centre for Disease Control, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Delhi, India (S.K. Singh, T. Dikid, M. Dhuria, A. Bahl, R. Chandra, T.P. Vaisakh, S.M. Prajapati, N. Nirwan, L. Paul); National Institute of Epidemiology, Indian Council for Medical Research, Tamil Nadu, India (M. Murhekar, P. Kaur, G. Parasuraman, P. Bhat); World Health Organization Country Office, Delhi (S. Longjumer, K.A. Dzeyie, P. Bhatnagar, N.T. Minh); US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention India Country Office, New Delhi, India (S. Tanwar, R. Yadav, M. Desai)

Main Article

Table 2

Policy implications of select COVID-19 response efforts by the India Field Epidemiology Training Program, March 2020–June 2021*

Response type FETP officers Location and date Policy implications
COVID-19 cluster containment in the initial phase of the pandemic
 2
 Northern India, March 2020
 Implementation of a coordinated containment plan served as a template for management of COVID-19 clusters in India.
COVID-19 outbreak investigation in a healthcare facility
 2
 Northern India, March 2020
 Infection prevention control checklist developed for routine healthcare delivery during the pandemic (7).
COVID-19 outbreak linked to a fish market—a case-control study
 2
 Southern India, June 2020
 Findings underpinned the need for adherence to physical distancing, masking, and implementation of testing and contact-tracing programs in marketplaces during periods of ongoing community transmission.
COVID-19 cluster investigation in a residential training institute
 1
 Northeastern India, March 2021
 Implementation of school infection control assessment tool (8).
Support in establishing digital COVID-19 surveillance system
 1
 Southern India, May 2020
 Surveillance system provided flexibility to accommodate changes in the testing and contact-tracing guidelines, resulting in optimal testing and contact tracing.
Monitoring consumption of oxygen during the second COVID-19 wave
 1
 Southern India, April 2021
 Timely interventions reduced the district oxygen requirement by >43% (1,765–1,004 L per patient per day). Similar models were recommended to be replicated in other districts to optimize the oxygen requirement.
Response to Kumbh Mela
 16
 Haridwar, Uttarakhand, India, March 2021
 Daily feedback from FETP officers led to an overall increase of 21% (62%–83%) in mask use and a 14% (31%–45%) improvement in the correct use of masks among those who were already using a mask.
*FETP, Field Epidemiology Training Program.

Main Article

References
  1. United Nations Statistics Division. World statistics pocketbook: India-country profile. 2020 [cited 2021 Nov 10]. http://data.un.org/en/iso/in.html
  2. National Informatics Centre, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India. States and Union Territories. 2020 [cited 2021 Nov 10]. http://www.goidirectory.gov.in/district.php
  3. Al Nsour  M, Khader  Y, Al Serouri  A, Bashier  H, Osman  S. Awareness and preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program graduates to respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: cross-sectional study. JMIR Med Educ. 2020;6:e19047. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  4. André  AM, Lopez  A, Perkins  S, Lambert  S, Chace  L, Noudeke  N, et al. Frontline Field Epidemiology Training Programs as a strategy to improve disease surveillance and response. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017;23:S166–73. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  5. Jones  DS, Dicker  RC, Fontaine  RE, Boore  AL, Omolo  JO, Ashgar  RJ, et al. Building global epidemiology and response capacity with Field Epidemiology Training Programs. Emerg Infect Dis. 2017;23:S158–65. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  6. Singh  SK, Murhekar  M, Gupta  S, Minh  NNT, Sodha  SV; Training Programme Working Group*. Building public health capacity through India Epidemic Intelligence Service and Field Epidemiology Training Programs in India. Indian J Public Health. 2021;65(Suppl 1):S1–4. DOIPubMedGoogle Scholar
  7. National Centre for Disease Control. India. Infection prevention control checklist [cited 2021 Dec 5]. https://ncdc.gov.in/index1.php?lang=1&level=2&sublinkid=823&lid=617
  8. National Centre for Disease Control. India. School infection control assessment tool [cited 2021 Nov 10]. https://www.ncdc.gov.in/showfile.php?lid=637
  9. Rajya Sabha. Parliament of India. Parliament standing committee on health and family welfare one hundred twenty third report on the outbreak of pandemic COVID-19 and its management [cited 2021 Nov 10]. https://rajyasabha.nic.in/rsnew/Committee_site/Committee_File/ReportFile/14/142/123_2020_11_15.pdf
  10. World Health Organization Benchmarks for International Health Regulations (IHR) Capacities. Geneva. Organization. 2019.
  11. Global Health Security Agenda. Workforce development [cited 2021 Nov 15]. https://ghsagenda.org/workforce-development

Main Article

Page created: August 02, 2022
Page updated: December 11, 2022
Page reviewed: December 11, 2022
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
file_external