Sign up for a Free Online Contact Tracing Course Through Johns Hopkins
If you are one of the millions of people who have either lost their jobs during the pandemic, or have reduced work hours or workload, you may have considered applying for contact tracing . In that case – or if you’re just wondering how the process works – you can now enroll in a free online contact tracing course at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health . Here’s what you need to know.
How to register
Starting today, anyone can take a five-hour course on Coursera . This is an entry-level class with flexible terms and you will receive your certificate at the end. It will focus on the principles of a public health strategy that many consider critical to slowing the spread of COVID-19. The course is taught in English with subtitles in English, Spanish and Portuguese (Brazilian).
Here is the course description :
The COVID-19 crisis has created an unprecedented need for contact tracing across the country, requiring thousands of people to quickly master key skills. Qualifications for contact tracing positions vary from country to country and around the world, with some new positions being opened to individuals with a high school diploma or equivalent.
In this introductory course, students will learn about the science of SARS-CoV-2, including the infectious period, clinical manifestations of COVID-19, and evidence of how SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from person to person and why contact tracing can be such an effective intervention in the field public health. Students will learn about how contact tracing is done, including how to build rapport with cases, identify their contacts, and maintain both cases and their contacts to stop transmission in their communities. The course will also cover several important ethical considerations regarding contact tracing, isolation, and quarantine. Finally, the course will identify some of the most common barriers to contact tracing efforts, as well as strategies to overcome them.
The course is taught by Emily Gurley, Ph.D., M.D., Associate Research Fellow, Epidemiology Division, Bloomberg Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. If you want to know more about what the class covers, here’s the program.
“Even if you stop one or two new infections, you will prevent many new infections,” Gurley said in a statement .