Member institutions are invited to provide feedback on CAPHIA's response to "Role and Functions of an Australian Centre for Disease Control"
Background
The Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care is establishing an Australian Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to improve Australia’s ongoing response to current and emerging public health emergencies. Role and Functions of an Australian Centre for Disease Control is a discussion paper with a purpose to guide development of the purpose, scope and functions of the CDC as part of a targeted consultation process. On November 9th 2022, CAPHIA were invited to provide a written response by December 9th 2022. We were also invited to send two representatives to a face-to-face consultation workshop in Canberra on November 25th 2022.
The discussion paper states their design principles (pg. 9), such as “all hazard approach” and “improved pandemic preparedness,” proposed functions as “in scope,” “possibly in scope” or “not in scope” and 28 guidance questions to inform a response. The CDC Project Team have conducted significant research, including preparation of case studies and analysis of international CDC models of interest. Question sets are organised into 11 themes with background information and, in some cases, suggestions for “what the CDC could provide.”
Timelines and Feedback Mechanism
The written submission is due Friday 9 December. To enable the CAPHIA Board of Directors to review all feedback and finalise the submission, member feedback is requested by Wednesday 7 December 2022.
CAPHIA member institutions are invited to provide written feedback via email to our Executive Director, Holly Donaldson, via
Development Process
CAPHIA staff led the development of the draft written submission before being reviewed and improved by the Advocacy in Action Consultation Group. The submission reflects discussions, recommendations and requests from members shared during the Executive Director’s virtual roadshows, the 2022 Heads of Schools Summit and governance group meetings. In addition, evidence-based recommendations were leveraged from:
- The 2022 Open Letter in the ANZJPH calling for increased investment in Public Health Education
- The Global Network for Academic Public Health’s 2021 position paper: Global governance for improved human, animal, and planetary health: the essential role of schools and programs of public health
- The draft CAPHIA integrative literature review of how to strengthen the public health workforce through education (commissioned in 2021)
- The 2022 CAPHIA Position Statement: Educating the Public Health Workforce
- World Health Federation of Public Health Association’s Review of the Australasian Public Health Competencies 2021
- CAPHIA’s scoping review of mentoring program models, effectiveness and impact on mentees and mentors
- Original research into the public health workforce, led by CAPHIA PhD scholarship recipient, Rory Watts
- Expert input from our expanded and diverse Advocacy in Action Consultation Group and 2 x subgroups
- The comparative review of international CDCs conducted by the subgroup
- A light touch gap analysis of the Australian public health workforce to identify barriers and solutions across the pipeline (including entry to expert)
- Summarised upskilling, cross-skilling and continuing professional development pathways for public health practitioners in Australia
- CDC Consultation discussions in Canberra on 25 November 2022.