Cargando…

Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is a 2-year training program in applied epidemiology. FETP graduates have contributed significantly to improvements in surveillance systems, control of infectious diseases, and outbreak investigations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Al Nsour, Mohannad, Khader, Yousef, Al Serouri, Abdulwahed, Bashier, Haitham, Osman, Shahd
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7505690/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32406852
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/19047
_version_ 1783584866700361728
author Al Nsour, Mohannad
Khader, Yousef
Al Serouri, Abdulwahed
Bashier, Haitham
Osman, Shahd
author_facet Al Nsour, Mohannad
Khader, Yousef
Al Serouri, Abdulwahed
Bashier, Haitham
Osman, Shahd
author_sort Al Nsour, Mohannad
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is a 2-year training program in applied epidemiology. FETP graduates have contributed significantly to improvements in surveillance systems, control of infectious diseases, and outbreak investigations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). OBJECTIVE: Considering the instrumental roles of FETP graduates during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, this study aimed to assess their awareness and preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in three EMR countries. METHODS: An online survey was sent to FETP graduates in the EMR in March 2020. The FETP graduates were contacted by email and requested to fill out an online survey. Sufficient number of responses were received from only three countries—Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen. A few responses were received from other countries, and therefore, they were excluded from the analysis. The questionnaire comprised a series of questions pertaining to sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of the epidemiology of COVID-19, and preparedness to respond to COVID-19. RESULTS: This study included a total of 57 FETP graduates (20 from Jordan, 13 from Sudan, and 24 from Yemen). A total of 31 (54%) graduates had attended training on COVID-19, 29 (51%) were members of a rapid response team against COVID-19, and 54 (95%) had previous experience in response to disease outbreaks or health emergencies. The vast majority were aware of the main symptoms, mode of transmission, high-risk groups, and how to use personal protective equipment. A total of 46 (81%) respondents considered themselves well prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak, and 40 (70%) reported that they currently have a role in supporting the country’s efforts in the management of COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: The FETP graduates in Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen were fully aware of the epidemiology of COVID-19 and the safety measures required, and they are well positioned to investigate and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they should be properly and efficiently utilized by the Ministries of Health to investigate and respond to the current COVID-19 crisis where the needs are vastly growing and access to outside experts is becoming limited.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7505690
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher JMIR Publications
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-75056902020-10-05 Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study Al Nsour, Mohannad Khader, Yousef Al Serouri, Abdulwahed Bashier, Haitham Osman, Shahd JMIR Med Educ Original Paper BACKGROUND: The Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) is a 2-year training program in applied epidemiology. FETP graduates have contributed significantly to improvements in surveillance systems, control of infectious diseases, and outbreak investigations in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR). OBJECTIVE: Considering the instrumental roles of FETP graduates during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis, this study aimed to assess their awareness and preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic in three EMR countries. METHODS: An online survey was sent to FETP graduates in the EMR in March 2020. The FETP graduates were contacted by email and requested to fill out an online survey. Sufficient number of responses were received from only three countries—Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen. A few responses were received from other countries, and therefore, they were excluded from the analysis. The questionnaire comprised a series of questions pertaining to sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge of the epidemiology of COVID-19, and preparedness to respond to COVID-19. RESULTS: This study included a total of 57 FETP graduates (20 from Jordan, 13 from Sudan, and 24 from Yemen). A total of 31 (54%) graduates had attended training on COVID-19, 29 (51%) were members of a rapid response team against COVID-19, and 54 (95%) had previous experience in response to disease outbreaks or health emergencies. The vast majority were aware of the main symptoms, mode of transmission, high-risk groups, and how to use personal protective equipment. A total of 46 (81%) respondents considered themselves well prepared for the COVID-19 outbreak, and 40 (70%) reported that they currently have a role in supporting the country’s efforts in the management of COVID-19 outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: The FETP graduates in Jordan, Sudan, and Yemen were fully aware of the epidemiology of COVID-19 and the safety measures required, and they are well positioned to investigate and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they should be properly and efficiently utilized by the Ministries of Health to investigate and respond to the current COVID-19 crisis where the needs are vastly growing and access to outside experts is becoming limited. JMIR Publications 2020-09-18 /pmc/articles/PMC7505690/ /pubmed/32406852 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/19047 Text en ©Mohannad Al Nsour, Yousef Khader, Abdulwahed Al Serouri, Haitham Bashier, Shahd Osman. Originally published in JMIR Medical Education (http://mededu.jmir.org), 18.09.2020. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Medical Education, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on http://mededu.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Al Nsour, Mohannad
Khader, Yousef
Al Serouri, Abdulwahed
Bashier, Haitham
Osman, Shahd
Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study
title Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study
title_full Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study
title_fullStr Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study
title_full_unstemmed Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study
title_short Awareness and Preparedness of Field Epidemiology Training Program Graduates to Respond to COVID-19 in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: Cross-Sectional Study
title_sort awareness and preparedness of field epidemiology training program graduates to respond to covid-19 in the eastern mediterranean region: cross-sectional study
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7505690/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32406852
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/19047
work_keys_str_mv AT alnsourmohannad awarenessandpreparednessoffieldepidemiologytrainingprogramgraduatestorespondtocovid19intheeasternmediterraneanregioncrosssectionalstudy
AT khaderyousef awarenessandpreparednessoffieldepidemiologytrainingprogramgraduatestorespondtocovid19intheeasternmediterraneanregioncrosssectionalstudy
AT alserouriabdulwahed awarenessandpreparednessoffieldepidemiologytrainingprogramgraduatestorespondtocovid19intheeasternmediterraneanregioncrosssectionalstudy
AT bashierhaitham awarenessandpreparednessoffieldepidemiologytrainingprogramgraduatestorespondtocovid19intheeasternmediterraneanregioncrosssectionalstudy
AT osmanshahd awarenessandpreparednessoffieldepidemiologytrainingprogramgraduatestorespondtocovid19intheeasternmediterraneanregioncrosssectionalstudy