Last Updated on Tuesday, 23 February 2010 07:31 Written by Temuulen Tuesday, 23 February 2010 05:59

Field Work

Field Epis are deployed to the field upon request to support investigations to control diseases of local, provincial, territorial, national or international concern. This may include communicable disease outbreaks, clusters of chronic diseases, surveillance activities and teaching and training. Deployment is at the discretion of the placement supervisors within their jurisdiction or the MFETP staff for EPI-AIDS.

Field Epis may assist in:

• Developing case definition(s)
• Identifying the causal agent(s)
• Determining the extent of the outbreak or public health issue
• Developing and applying case finding methodology
• Organizing and interpreting data collected/providing a descriptive epidemiologic summary
• Determining whether the cases are related/epi-linked
• Identifying the source of the agent
• Determining the optimal control measure(s)
• Providing recommendations for disease control interventions
• Setting up a case-control/cohort/cross-sectional study
• Co-authoring publications arising from the investigation

Fieldwork can last from two to three weeks. Follow-up work (e.g., further analysis of data, writing the report) usually takes another four to six weeks once the Field Epi returns from the field.

Work Expectations

• In their placements, Field Epis are required to work full-time (five days/week, during normal working hours).
• Field Epis must be willing and available to travel to the field on short notice (24 to 48 hours) for several weeks at a time. While on a field investigation, it is usual for Field Epis to work additional hours, including evenings and weekends.
• Field Epis must have excellent teamwork, communication and conflict resolution skills. Field Epidemiologists never work alone while in the field; they always form part of an outbreak investigation team. Field Epis are invited to participate in investigations; they must be able to work collaboratively with their co-investigators in high-stress situations.