Kenya Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program; Strengthening Public Health Systems through Experiential Training and Operational Research

This supplement describes the findings of some of the programmatic and operational research conducted by the Kenya FELTP residents and graduates. The core mandate of the Kenya FELTP is to increase epidemiologic capacity within the Ministry of Health. Health care workers are enrolled into a two-year, master degree awarding fellowship in which applied epidemiological principles are learned mostly through field experiences, conducting activities such as public-health surveillance evaluations for infectious and non-infectious diseases, programmatic research, and outbreak investigation. This training-through-service approach ensures that the activities of the trainees help strengthen the public health systems, even before they complete the program. The authors describe the findings of some of the programmatic and operational research conducted by the residents and graduates to address public health challenges in Kenya.