ASPPH recently convened its fourth Disease Intervention Specialist (DIS) regional meeting at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC) School of Public Health. With funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ASPPH, along with the National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE), is developing a national DIS Certification, which aims to recruit, train, and retain the disease intervention workforce, strengthen pathways to careers, and standardize knowledge, skills, and abilities of disease intervention professionals.

The meeting hosts, HSC School of Public Health Dean Shafik Dharamsi and Dr. Emily Spence, Associate Dean for Community Engagement & Health Equity and Associate Professor in the Department of Population & Community Health, worked with ASPPH to convene a panel of disease intervention professionals representing local and state health departments and community organizations throughout Texas. Special thanks to Dean Dharamsi and Dr. Spence for their hospitality and help in organizing a highly engaging and successful meeting following our joint ASPPH Presents Webinar: Advancing Public Health Practice: Strategic Partnerships for a Healthier Tomorrow earlier that same week.

Meeting facilitators from The Vianova Group led participants through interactive exercises and discussions aimed at identifying and evaluating potential educational pathways for the disease intervention workforce, sharing priorities for recruitment, training, certification, and retention of the disease intervention workforce, and identifying strategies for moving the current disease intervention workforce toward certification.

Questions or comments can be submitted to Kaitlin Tager, Senior Manager of Workforce Development and Applied Practice, at ktager@aspph.org.