Applied Epidemiology in Central Queensland, Australia

Abstract

The Central Queensland Public Health Unit (CQPHU) is one of 10 strategically located Public Health Units (PHU) across Queensland and provides services to both the Central Queensland and Central West Hospital and Health Service (CWHHS). CQPHU is responsible for the surveillance, prevention and control of communicable diseases in the Central and Central West Queensland region and has been the location of my MAE field placement since February 2019. It has also been my place of employment as a senior Public Health Nurse (PHN) for the past 5 years.

The role of a public health unit is distinguished from other roles within a health system by its focus on the health and well-being of populations, rather than individuals. Given my MAE has been part of my role as a PHN, my projects had specific goals to align with the objectives of CQPHU: undertake health surveillance and disease control initiatives including response to disease outbreaks; support public health programs for priority health issues of national, state-wide and local significance; surveillance and analysis of routinely collected data on the distribution, determinants and control of disease in the local community to inform planning and delivery of health care and community programs; and translational research utilising routinely collected data to inform public health actions and policies both locally and regionally.

This thesis presents the projects undertaken during this field placement and consists of: the first reported locally acquired dengue virus outbreak in Central Queensland in over 30 years; a combined data analysis and epidemiological investigation of 3 mumps outbreaks within the Central Queensland area; and the establishment of a new syndromic surveillance system for COVID-19 close contacts in quarantine for the Central Queensland public health unit. The combined use of all mandatory MAE core competencies have been further demonstrated in a chapter dedicated to 'field epidemiology in practice', reporting the first COVID-19 outbreak in a residential aged care facility in Queensland.

This thesis also describes a teaching experience to first year MAEs; a lesson from the field delivered to MAE colleagues; and other experiences such as the first Queensland reported COVID-19 outbreak in an aged care facility, detailing the public health response and my role in this outbreak. These projects and experiences demonstrate the core requirements of the Master of Philosophy (Applied Epidemiology) program by Australian National University. Show more