Learning Resources

Purpose

  • CFA's Learning Resources are developed by scientists and disease modelers to strengthen outbreak modeling, forecasting, simulation, and risk communications.
  • These courses are designed to enhance familiarity with infectious disease modeling, forecasting, risk communication, and their application to public health decision-making.
Access a collection of learning resources on infectious disease modeling and forecasting.

Forecasting and Modeling Concepts in Public Health

  • Link to Training Part 1 and Part 2
  • Developed by: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists, Data scientists, Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 2 hours
  • Platform: YouTube
  • Knowledge level: Beginner
  • Content: These introductory sessions provide public health staff with an overview of disease models and forecasts, including a brief history of their use.

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE)
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists, Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Platform: CSTE Learn (Course is free, but platform registration is required)
  • Knowledge level: Beginner
  • Content: Developed with subject matter experts from CDC's Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion (DHQP), this session describes the fundamentals of infectious disease models, and ways in which models can be used for public health.

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: epiENGAGE
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists and Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Knowledge level: Beginner
  • Platform: Canvas (Course is free, but platform registration is required)
  • Content: Developed by the epiENGAGE Insight Net Center, this course introduces the topic of mathematical modeling by defining types of models that exist, describing how models are produced, and highlighting the public health impact they can have through a case study.

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: Johns Hopkins University
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists, Policymakers, Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 4 hours
  • Knowledge level: Beginner
  • Platform: Coursera (Course is free, but platform registration is required)
  • Content: Covers the basic principles of infectious disease models and how modeling and forecasting can be used for practical public health decision-making.

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: Johns Hopkins University
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists, Data scientists, Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 3 hours
  • Knowledge level: Intermediate
  • Platform: Coursera (Course is free, but platform registration is required)
  • Content: Delves a little deeper into the models themselves, describing the differences between model types and key elements of their structure—with real world, applied examples.

Tool Highlights and Demonstrations

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists and Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Knowledge level: Beginner
  • Platform: NACCHO University (Course is free, but platform registration is required)
  • Content: CORI, an Insight Net Center, provides an overview of their measles scenario-based risk assessments, U.S. Measles Map Dashboard, and REDCap-based tools that help streamline case investigation, contact tracing, and data collection during measles outbreaks. The session features off-the-shelf tools for local health departments, including an outbreak response template and other ready-to-use resources designed to support rapid deployment.

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO)
  • Target audience: Epidemiologists and Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Knowledge level: Intermediate
  • Platform: NACCHO University (Course is free, but platform registration is required)
  • Content: The epiENGAGE Outbreak Simulator was designed by the Meyers Lab at the University of Texas at Austin, and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), as a part of Insight Net. This tool is designed to simulate various pandemic scenarios and facilitate real-time intervention strategies. Users can select from a variety of pre-defined scenarios, customize initial conditions, and implement interventions, all while visualizing outcomes over time.

Workforce Development

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • Target audience: Health department leadership, Public health professionals, Policymakers
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Knowledge level: Beginner
  • Platform: YouTube
  • Content: Explores opportunities around modeling and forecasting, including innovative ideas for jurisdictions to recruit skilled staff or build capacity in-house.

Communicating Forecasts and Model Outputs

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • Target audience: Health communicators, Epidemiologists, Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Knowledge level: Intermediate
  • Platform: YouTube
  • Content: Highlights the need for clear, transparent, and timely communication of modeling results, including exploring the challenges of communicating uncertainty.

  • Link to Training
  • Developed by: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO)
  • Target Audience: Epidemiologists, Data scientists, Public health professionals
  • Time commitment: 1 hour
  • Knowledge level: Intermediate
  • Platform: YouTube
  • Content: Provides an overview of key considerations when briefing policymakers and some strategies to use when interacting with legislators.
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Content Source:
Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics