The University of Florida’s application for Strengthening Training, Evaluation, and Partnerships in the Prevention and Control of Vector-Borne Diseases will address the need for building the vector-borne disease prevention and control workforce and its capacity through an integrated program of in-person regional workshops, digital trainings, formal program evaluation, evaluation of approved tools, and partnering with diverse stakeholder groups. We will use structured evaluation, needs assessments and strong partnerships to iteratively improve our training programs. Our formal links to the CDC SNTC will provide consistent structure across learning platforms, and mentoring for faculty engaged in the STEP VBD.
Training will be achieved through numerous in-person workshops and digital modules. Each faculty member on this project has expertise in unique aspects of VBD prevention in control. For each year of the agreement, ten 2.5 day in-person workshops will be provided by faculty experts at centers spread throughout the southeastern US (Florida, Georgia, Alabama) to deliver hands-on trainings where they are needed, with the particular goal of reaching underfunded programs, and/or those with limited travel capacity. The regional workshops address important topics, including tick-borne disease, pesticide safety, vector sampling, larval and adult mosquito identification, adulticiding, larviciding, resistance, community education, virus detection, Wolbachia, data Management, GIS, clinical medicine and epidemiology. Each faculty leader will also develop a minimum of five one-hour digital modules, through Canvas or Coursera. Digital and in-person workshops will provide CEUs and without registration costs. Over the five-year period, we will expect to provide >4,500 digital training hours and 50 total workshops.
Evaluation will be achieved through structured program evaluation and evaluation of tools by partners and stakeholders. Initial and annual needs assessments will be performed by faculty and graduate students, engaging all partners and stakeholders. Our logic model will guide program evaluation. We will evaluate the operational use of approved VBD prevention and control tools, strategies, and programs by collecting, analyzing, and sharing operational response data with partners and trainee organizations We will synthesize and integrate operational data to improve performance of approved VBD prevention and control tools and strategies. A major goal of our evaluation strategy is to increase the adoption and use of new and existing vector control tools, strategies, and programs developed or facilitated by training center, at the institution, community, local, or state level.
To build and strengthen partnerships we will establish collaborative partnerships in VBD prevention and control, involving relevant partners needed to develop and implement training and evaluation activities and solidify existing partnerships between UF and organizations with vested interests in VBD prevention and control within the southeastern U.S. As part of our partnering strategy we will conduct quarterly webinars to provide results of evaluations, promote training opportunities, build partnerships across subdisciplines, and gain feedback from partners.
VBDs can disproportionately affect minority populations that often experience significant barriers to healthcare services. Our program is committed to serving these populations as demonstrated by our established partnerships with stakeholders in rural, low population density, and minority dominated portions of the southeastern USA.
