Ensuring an Infectious Disease Workforce

This report summarises the workshop presentations and discussions from the Forum on Emerging Infections (now renamed the Forum on Microbial Threats) held June 12-13 2003. The two-day workshop included discussion and presentations that addressed the practical application of technologies, methodologies, and practices related to infectious disease surveillance, prevention, research and control.

The goals of the workshop were to:

• Identify infectious disease training initiatives sponsored by government, foundations, academia, or industry that are or have been successful, and factors required for continued success
• Identify topics of public, private, or Congressional interest, such as food safety, vector-borne diseases, restrictions on foreign scientists, and public health preparedness where there may be a dearth of training initiatives or other barriers
• Discuss the role of the United States Agency for International Development, World Health Organization, and other international organisations in the training of foreign nationals and identify additional training needs (e.g., surveillance, epidemiology, and laboratory training) that would be beneficial in capacity-building and infrastructure development initiatives
• Discuss possible alterations in academic programmes at the professional student, clinical training, and research training levels to increase awareness of a capacity to recognise and treat or prevent emerging infections
• Consider whether current government training programmes at the Center for Disease Control, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Department of Defense are adequately supported and whether establishment of public/private partnerships to expand current initiatives would be of value

During the workshop participants identified the priority needs in ensuring an infectious disease workforce and explored the different ways to get people from various disciplines talking with one another, speaking a common language and valuing each other's skills and ideas. Participants also noted the important communications role that scientists have in explaining to policy makers and the public the importance of a well trained health workforce.

Some key disciplines that were explored as case-study examinations included disease epidemiology, vaccinology, medical entomology, vector biology, and bioethics.