The evolution of applied field epidemiology training in Canada: The last fifty years, and a vision for the future.

Authors

Benjamin Hetman, Esmé Lanktree, Carolyn Dohoo, Joanne Stares, Marc-André Bélair, Lisa Jensen

Published in

Canada communicable disease report = Releve des maladies transmissibles au Canada. Volume 52. Issue 7-8. Pages 278-281. Epub Jul 30, 2026.

Abstract

In Canada, successive crises (e.g., severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS] in 2003, H1N1 in 2009, COVID-19 in 2019) have not only tested the response capacity of the public health workforce, but reshaped how field epidemiologists are trained. Over five decades, federal applied epidemiology training in Canada has evolved from a small, in-person program focused on outbreak investigation to a multidisciplinary, nationally coordinated training ecosystem integrating emergency management, health equity, climate responsiveness, and technological fluency. This commentary reflects on that evolution and considers the future of the Field Epidemiology Training Program in an era of intersecting and accelerating public health needs.

PMID:
42775270
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 23 Sep 2026.

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