The task of a field epidemiologist is not complete until the results of a study have been clearly communicated in a timely manner to those who need to know, and an intervention made to improve the health of the people.
FETP trainees, or “residents,” spend approximately 25 percent of their time in the classroom, learning the principles of epidemiology, disease surveillance, outbreak investigation, and biostatistics.
The other 75 percent of their time is spent in field placements, where residents "learn by doing," by participating in outbreak investigations, helping to establish and evaluate disease surveillance systems, designing and conducting studies on problems of public health concern in their country, and training other healthcare workers.
Since launching the Epidemic Intelligence Service by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 1951, the development of field epidemiology has been promoted internationally and globally.
[4] In 1980, the government of Thailand requested CDC's assistance to establish its own program,[5] with funding initially contributed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Its purpose was to create a network of highly trained field epidemiologists in the European Union, thereby strengthening the public health epidemiology workforce at EU Member States and EEA level.
Current EPIET alumni are providing expertise in response activities and strengthening capacity for communicable disease surveillance and control inside and beyond the EU.