Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104265

John P. Abellera, MPH¹, Jennifer Lemmings, MPH¹, LaKesha M. Robinson, MPH¹, and Matthew Boulton, MD². (1) Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists, 2872 Woodcock Blvd, Suite 303, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-458-3811, jabellera@cste.org, (2) Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, The University of Michigan, 109 Observatory St., 1009 SPH I, Ann Arbor, MI 48109

Background: In November of 2001, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) conducted a survey of state and territorial health departments to assess their epidemiologic capacity. The survey revealed inadequate capacity in all epidemiology program areas, except infectious disease, and insufficient infrastructure to perform those four essential public health services most reliant upon epidemiology. (1) This assessment was conducted prior to the distribution of nearly $1 billion in bioterrorism funds to states by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in FY 02, which was expected to help reduce these program deficits in epidemiology. In 2004, CSTE conducted a follow-up survey which measured core epidemiologic capacity, asked for estimate of need, and assessed training and recruitment of epidemiologists in the United States and territories.

Methods: A survey was distributed to 50 states, eight territories and the District of Columbia between May and September 2004.

Results: A total of 2,580 epidemiologists were reported working in state and territorial health departments, and almost 1,200 more epidemiologists are needed to meet personnel capacity. During the 12 months preceding the assessment, 48/51 (94%) of respondents reported supporting training or education to enhance the competence of epidemiologists in performing the essential public health services. Over 90% (46/50) of respondents indicated that there are barriers to recruiting well-qualified epidemiologists to their health departments.

Conclusion: CSTE found an overall increase in the number of epidemiologists working in state health departments, but also decreased capacity in several epidemiology program areas relative to the 2001 survey. (2)

Learning Objectives: