Assessing applied epidemiology competencies in the Virginia Department of Health workforce

Epidemiologists play critical roles in public health; until recently, no formal standards existed for epidemiology practice. In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) drafted applied epidemiology competencies that provide a foundation for expectations and training programs. Using these competencies, we assessed baseline applied epidemiology competency for Virginia Department of Health (VDH) epidemiologists.

Eight epidemiologists representing multiple divisions developed a survey based on CDC/CSTE competencies. Individuals who self-identified themselves as epidemiologists were asked to participate. Within each skill domain (assessment/analysis, basic public health sciences, communication, community dimensions of practice, cultural competency, financial/operational planning and management, leadership and systems thinking, policy development), specific competencies were listed. For each competency, frequency and confidence in performing and need for training was measured using Likert scales. Differences between three tiers of practice were assessed using analysis of variance.

Eighty-eight persons from 10 VDH program areas responded. Respondents had a median of 4 years of experience with 52% completing formal epidemiology training. Respondents identified themselves as Tier 1/entry-level (38%), Tier 2/midlevel (47%), and Tier 3/senior-level (15%) epidemiologists. Compared to lower tiers, Tier 3 epidemiologists more frequently performed financial/operational planning and management (P=0.023) and communication activities (P=0.018) and had higher confidence in assessment/analysis (P<0.001). Training needs were highest for assessment/analysis and basic public health sciences.

VDH has a robust epidemiology workforce with varying levels of experience. Frequency and confidence of epidemiologists in performing competencies varied by tier. VDH will use this data to plan targeted training.