Evaluating the outcomes and impact of the Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellowship to bolster Georgia’s workforce
Abstract
Background: In 2020, Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) established a two-year fellowship program in partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to recruit, hire, and support early career Master’s-level epidemiologists across Georgia’s local health districts (LHD). The program consists of a competency-based curriculum coupled with entry-level epidemiologist roles. This presentation will share process, outcome, and impact evaluation metrics for the first two cohorts of the Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellows Program.
Methods: The process evaluation includes continuously collecting and monitoring recruitment, retention, and post-fellowship metrics. To assess the impact on the fellows’ epidemiologic skills and competencies, fellows complete assessments before and after their tenure. An external evaluator conducted a comprehensive qualitative program evaluation in 2022 that included interviews with LHD supervisors and fellows to ensure the program remains aligned with LHD needs.
Results: In the first two cohorts, 30 fellows were hired and placed within 16 of Georgia’s 18 LHDs and DPH between October 2020 and June 2021. Seventy-six percent of the first cohort (n=17) have successfully completed fellowship graduation requirements, with an anticipated 100% successful completion rate for the second cohort (n=13) by June 2023. Eight former fellows have accepted epidemiologist roles in Georgia’s LHDs. In the pre- and post-fellowship self-assessments, all graduated fellows report overall growth across six epidemiology-relevant competencies. Findings from the qualitative program evaluation validate that the fellowship program expands capacity at the local level and has been beneficial for both DPH/LHDs and fellows. LHD supervisors and fellows agreed that the fellowship should continue and expand in scope beyond COVID-19.
Conclusions: The Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellowship has been successful in partnering directly with state and local health departments in Georgia to fill immediate workforce needs while cultivating the next generation of Georgia’s public health leaders.
Keywords
Workforce Development, Academic-Public Health Partnerships, Epidemiology
Evaluating the outcomes and impact of the Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellowship to bolster Georgia’s workforce
Background: In 2020, Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) established a two-year fellowship program in partnership with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) to recruit, hire, and support early career Master’s-level epidemiologists across Georgia’s local health districts (LHD). The program consists of a competency-based curriculum coupled with entry-level epidemiologist roles. This presentation will share process, outcome, and impact evaluation metrics for the first two cohorts of the Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellows Program.
Methods: The process evaluation includes continuously collecting and monitoring recruitment, retention, and post-fellowship metrics. To assess the impact on the fellows’ epidemiologic skills and competencies, fellows complete assessments before and after their tenure. An external evaluator conducted a comprehensive qualitative program evaluation in 2022 that included interviews with LHD supervisors and fellows to ensure the program remains aligned with LHD needs.
Results: In the first two cohorts, 30 fellows were hired and placed within 16 of Georgia’s 18 LHDs and DPH between October 2020 and June 2021. Seventy-six percent of the first cohort (n=17) have successfully completed fellowship graduation requirements, with an anticipated 100% successful completion rate for the second cohort (n=13) by June 2023. Eight former fellows have accepted epidemiologist roles in Georgia’s LHDs. In the pre- and post-fellowship self-assessments, all graduated fellows report overall growth across six epidemiology-relevant competencies. Findings from the qualitative program evaluation validate that the fellowship program expands capacity at the local level and has been beneficial for both DPH/LHDs and fellows. LHD supervisors and fellows agreed that the fellowship should continue and expand in scope beyond COVID-19.
Conclusions: The Rollins COVID-19 Epidemiology Fellowship has been successful in partnering directly with state and local health departments in Georgia to fill immediate workforce needs while cultivating the next generation of Georgia’s public health leaders.
