Teaching MPH students 'shoe-leather epidemiology' through foodborne illness outbreaks, case investigations, and surveillance at the Super Bowl

Graduate level Public Health students in Arizona are getting training through a class that thrusts them into the frontlines of real-world epidemiological work. Students in the Student Aid for Epidemiology Response (SAFER) program have conducted foodborne illness outbreak interviews, monitored first aid stations at Super Bowl XLII, analyzed surveillance data, and carried out case investigations of enteric diseases. This real-world experience – provided by the Maricopa County Department of Public Health (MCDPH) -- is bolstered by classroom education at the University of Arizona (UA).

The SAFER program, now in its fourth year, has succeeded for several key reasons:

• a full-time UA staff member is dedicated to the program,

• unlike other student response teams, SAFER is linked to an accredited course that teaches basic outbreak investigation techniques and brings in guest speakers to share their experiences from the field,

• students serve as an extension of the MCDPH rather than as a separate team,

• SAFER students mobilize within 24 hours in most instances,

• students are fully trained in epidemiologic practices before being mobilized,

• constant communication occurs between MCDPH staff and the SAFER coordinator.

The impact of the SAFER collaboration has positive consequences for the health department beyond surge capacity. Training of SAFER students requires the development, maintenance and implementation of accurate, user-friendly protocols as curricula. These materials are used also for new staff and other divisions and departments. Most significantly, a new generation of public health workforce replacements is getting practical, real world training prior to graduation.