Establishing a field epidemiology elective for medical students in Kenya: A strategy for increasing public health awareness and workforce capacity

Wences Arvelo; Zeinab Gura; Samuel Amwayi; Petra Wiersma; Jared Omolo; Steven Becknell; Donna Jones; Dismas Ongore; Richard Dicker

doi:10.1016/j.jegh.2014.10.002

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Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2015, Pages 33 - 39

Establishing a field epidemiology elective for medical students in Kenya: A strategy for increasing public health awareness and workforce capacity

Authors

Wences Arvelo^a^{, *}^,dwi4@cdc.gov, Zeinab Gura^b, Samuel Amwayi^b, Petra Wiersma^c, Jared Omolo^b, Steven Becknell^a, Donna Jones^a, Dismas Ongore^d, Richard Dicker^a

^aUS Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, USA

^bKenya Ministry of Health, Nairobi, Kenya

^cCTS Global, Inc., Assigned to: US Centers for Disease Control Prevention, East Africa, USA

^dUniversity of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya

^*Corresponding author at: Ministry of Health, Kenya Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program, Kenyatta National Hospital Campus, Nairobi, Kenya. Tel.: +254 70 348 5439.

Corresponding Author

Wences Arvelodwi4@cdc.gov

Received 19 November 2013, Revised 4 August 2014, Accepted 4 October 2014, Available Online 16 November 2014.

DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2014.10.002 How to use a DOI?
Keywords: Field epidemiology; Medical elective; Workforce development; Africa
Abstract: Medical students have limited exposure to field epidemiology, even though will assume public health roles after graduation. We established a 10-week elective in field epidemiology during medical school. Students attended one-week didactic sessions on epidemiology, and nine weeks in field placement sites. We administered pre- and post-tests to evaluate the training. We enrolled 34 students in 2011 and 2012. In 2011, we enrolled five of 24 applicants from a class of 280 medical students. In 2012, we enrolled 18 of 81 applicants from a class of 360 students; plus 11 who participated in the didactic sessions only. Among the 34 students who completed the didactic sessions, 74% were male, and their median age was 24 years (range: 22–26). The median pre-test score was 64% (range: 47–88%) and the median post-test score was 82% (range: 72–100%). Successful completion of the field projects was 100%. Six (30%) students were not aware of public health as a career option before this elective, 56% rated the field experience as outstanding, and 100% reported it increased their understanding of epidemiology. Implementing an elective in field epidemiology within the medical training is a highly acceptable strategy to increase awareness for public health among medical students.
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

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Journal: Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
Volume-Issue: 5 - 1
Pages: 33 - 39
Publication Date: 2014/11/16
ISSN (Online): 2210-6014
ISSN (Print): 2210-6006
DOI: 10.1016/j.jegh.2014.10.002 How to use a DOI?
Open Access: This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Cite this article

ris enw bib

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Wences Arvelo
AU  - Zeinab Gura
AU  - Samuel Amwayi
AU  - Petra Wiersma
AU  - Jared Omolo
AU  - Steven Becknell
AU  - Donna Jones
AU  - Dismas Ongore
AU  - Richard Dicker
PY  - 2014
DA  - 2014/11/16
TI  - Establishing a field epidemiology elective for medical students in Kenya: A strategy for increasing public health awareness and workforce capacity
JO  - Journal of Epidemiology and Global Health
SP  - 33
EP  - 39
VL  - 5
IS  - 1
SN  - 2210-6014
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jegh.2014.10.002
DO  - 10.1016/j.jegh.2014.10.002
ID  - Arvelo2014
ER  -

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