Abstract
Background:Epi-Aids, or epidemiologic assistance investigations, are an important mechanism through which Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supports public health organizations. We described the characteristics of Epi-Aids conducted during 2005–2014 and summarized the publication outcome of Epi-Aid related scientific information products.Methods:We performed a descriptive analysis of all Epi-Aids conducted during January 1, 2005–December 31, 2014; investigations were categorized by health topic and geographic distribution. We highlighted investigations of substantial public health importance, e.g., multistate investigations and investigations of epidemics and pandemics. We identified the Epi-Aid publication outcome by searching PubMed for Epi-Aid related publications, which included Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports (MMWRs) and peer-reviewed publications with an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer (EISO) as a coauthor. We calculated publication timeliness and categorized publications by journal impact factor.Results:During the study period, 698 EISOs and their collaborators participated in 807 Epi-Aids throughout the United States and globally. Approximately 81 Epi-Aids were conducted annually (range, 62–104); 632 (78.3%) were infectious disease-related; 161 (20.0%) were international, supporting 68 countries. As of June 2015, EISOs, in collaboration with partners, published 131 MMWRs and 280 scientific manuscripts on the basis of the 807 Epi-Aids conducted during the study period; 394 (48.8%) Epi-Aids resulted in publications in 80 peer-reviewed journals.Conclusions:EISOs play a critical role in conducting Epi-Aids, which require qualified field epidemiologists who can rapidly respond to requests for assistance during public health emergencies. Publications based on Epi-Aids share new knowledge with the scientific community, furthering progress of public health science and practice.
Highlights
The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a 2-year combined training and service fellowship program for health professionals interested in the practice of applied epidemiology [1,2]
We describe the characteristics of Epi-Aid investigations conducted during 2005–2014, highlight key investigations, and summarize the publication outcome of scientific information products developed by Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer (EISO) in collaboration with external partners, through documenting Epi-Aid investigations
During January 1, 2005–December 31, 2014, a total of 698 EISOs and their collaborators participated in 807 Epi-Aid investigations throughout the United States and globally
Summary
The Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) is a 2-year combined training and service fellowship program for health professionals interested in the practice of applied epidemiology [1,2]. Field-based EISOs directly support the host jurisdiction with investigations of local health problems and in addition, supplement efforts to strengthen the organization’s public health infrastructure During their fellowship, EISOs participate in applied, competency-based training through both classroom (~5%) and on-thejob (~95%) experience and are required to complete a set of specific core activities, which include the following: participation in a public health-related field investigation; preparation and submission of a conference abstract, brief scientific report (e.g., for CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [MMWR]), and manuscript; and presentation to a scientific audience, among others [2,4]. EISOs learn epidemiology and public health practice through service; a fundamental experiential training for EISOs is providing short-term epidemiologic assistance for investigations of serious and urgent public health problems This assistance is provided in response to formal requests from state, local, federal, and international organizations, and foreign ministries of health (Epi-Aids) [3]. We described the characteristics of Epi-Aids conducted during 2005–2014 and summarized the publication outcome of Epi-Aid related scientific information products
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