Applied Epidemiology Core Competencies
Program participants develop a set of core skills through competency-based training. Fellows are expected to fulfill all of the competencies during the two-year Fellowship:

• Design surveillance systems to assess health problems.
• Evaluate surveillance systems and understand the limitations of surveillance data. First year Fellows are required to submit an abstract on their evaluation project for the CSTE Annual Conference.
• Play a functional role in bioterrorism/emergency preparedness and response (BT/ER) at the host agency and participate in related trainings, tabletop exercises, etc.
• Be able to interpret surveillance data.
• Design an epidemiologic study to address a health problem.
• Understand the basic types of study design and the advantages and limitations of each type.
• Design a questionnaire or other data collection tool to address a health problem.
• Collect health data from appropriate sources (e.g., case interviews, medical records, vital statistics records, laboratory reports, or pathology reports).
• Create a database for a health data set.
• Use statistical software to analyze and characterize epidemiologic data.
• Interpret findings from epidemiologic studies, including recognition of the limitations of the data and potential sources of bias and/or confounding.
• Recommend control measures, prevention programs, or other public health interventions based on epidemiologic findings.

• Write a field investigation report resulting from participation in an infectious disease or other approved outbreak investigation of either acute disease outbreak or a time-sensitive investigation. Fellows will experience participating in and observing an investigation performed in a charged environment. Fellows working in Chronic Disease, Maternal and Child Health, and other non-infectious disease program areas will participate in a temporary detail to allow the Fellow to participate in such an investigation.
• Write a surveillance report.
• Understand the basic process for preparing a manuscript for publication.
• Give an oral presentation using appropriate media.
• Present data graphically and know how to use graphic software.
• Understand the basics of health-risk communication and be able to communicate epidemiologic findings in a manner that is easily understood by lay audiences (i.e., those with limited scientific background).
• Masters-level Fellows: present a poster at a national or regional meeting, publish a technical report, or prepare a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
• Doctoral-level Fellows: prepare a manuscript for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

• Have a basic understanding of public health law.
• Understand the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and the recently-implemented privacy and information security amendments.
• Distinguishing between public health research and public health practice.
• Understand policies designed for the protection of human subjects and the role of an Institutional Review Board (IRB).
• Know the essential public health functions.
• Understand the roles of local, state, and federal public health agencies.
• Appreciate the diversity of how epidemiology is used in different program areas.
• Effectively negotiate cultural sensitivity issues.