Jeannette Tandez, MPH¹, Douglas Passaro, MD, MPH¹, Laura Ross, MPH², and Rebecca Wurtz, MD, MPH². (1) University of Illinois at Chicago SPH, 1603 W. Taylor, Chicago, IL 60612, 773.743.4213, jtandez@idph.state.il.us, (2) STC, 4400 E. Broadway, Tucson, AZ 85711

The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) and the four MPH-degree granting academic programs in Illinois developed a student epidemiology corps (SEC), designed to provide surge capacity in public health emergencies and special events, provide training and real-life experience in disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and public health (PH) preparedness, and interest students in PH practice. Potential duties include developing questionnaires, conducting interviews, entering data, managing documents, retrieving relevant literature, and enhancing communications capabilities. If mass vaccination were necessary, SEC members could facilitate traffic flow within vaccination clinics, screen phone calls, and enhance clinic operation and logistics. In its first year in operation, 6 students participated in the May 2003 TOPOFF drill, and 40 students from throughout Illinois are participating during the 2003-2004 academic year. Each academic program designated a faculty group leader, and IDPH and local health departments (HDs) designated departmental contacts. Students were invited to volunteer in the fall of their first year in school. First-time student members completed self-study material on outbreak investigation and public health preparedness, culminating in an orientation and team-building session during their first academic semester, followed by quarterly outbreak investigation “table top” exercises. Issues that must be addressed by jurisdictions building their own SECs include academic deferral in the setting of activation, confidentiality, legal protections and responsibilities for students, and immunization or antibiotic provision as needed for team members. We plan to develop an SEC “template” for other jurisdictions to provide surge capacity for HDs and practical experience for students.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the participant will
• be able to discuss how to recruit and train PH students to provide surge capacity to local public health departments in PH emergencies
• identify appropriate training material
• articulate some of the unforeseen issues which have arisen in a statewide implementation of a PH student epidemiology corps.

Keywords: Students, Local Public Health Agencies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.