Description

This past year, the public recognized the invaluable role Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) play in our public health workforce. Highly skilled in contact tracing and linking patients to care, DIS serve as essential, frontline workers that are trained in outbreak response and partner services. In the interim of CDC’s Passport to Partner Services in-person trainings being suspended due to COVID-19, and the rollout of a new online curriculum being developed, DIS still need specialized training to provide quality STD/HIV partner services. This webinar will discuss how three jurisdictions are training their new DIS to:

• Consider how state laws pertain to DIS work.
• Conduct timely investigations and efficient documentation on field records.
• Motivate patients to participate in STD/HIV partner services.
• Utilize creative tactics to obtain locating information during partner/contact elicitation.
• Address barriers that elicited partners have to get tested and treated for STIs and HIV.

Speakers

• Amber McArthur, Lead Disease Intervention Specialist, Sedgwick County Health Department
• Nikki Baer, STD/HIV Prevention Specialist, Utah Department of Health
• Kendra Wielding, Field Operations and Training Coordinator, Virginia Department of Health