The American Public Health Association (APHA) will feature the Biosafety and Infectious Disease Training Initiative (BIDTI) at their annual meeting and expo in Denver, Colorado. BIDTI investigators and staff will present a poster highlighting the background and objectives of this newly-funded program on Monday, October 31, 2016 (2:30 pm-3:30 pm).
Led by principal investigators Shawn Gibbs, PhD at Indiana University School of Public Health and Dr. John Lowe, PhD at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, BIDTI is a collaborative training program that includes partnerships with The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and Dillard University. Its purpose is to provide health, environmental infection control, and safety training to workers who may have potential exposure to Ebola virus disease (EVD) and other serious infectious diseases. BIDTI was funded in June 2016 by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences under award UH4 ES027055. Its objectives are to prepare workers and communities for the actual risks associated with EVD and other serious infectious diseases; to train workers to protect themselves, their colleagues, and their environment from exposure; and to promote the health, resiliency, and financial stability of workers and their communities.
APHA is an organization of professionals representing all fields of public health. Founded in 1872, APHA develops and advocates public health policies and programs, provides continuing education, and publishes the American Journal of Public Health.