Welcome to case studies in field epidemiology: EMR context, a collection of 31 teaching and learning cases. Each case based on real events and problems, they were developed as a learning tool for public health practitioners, it introduces case studies based on real events in EMR contexts and written by experienced field epidemiologists mainly field epidemiology training programs’ technical advisers, residents, and graduates and other experts in various areas of public health. Core areas covered in detail are investigating outbreaks, surveillance systems, epidemiology, and infections control. Case-based learning may be an even more effective approach for developing competency in highly applied cross-cutting domains such as communication, diversity and culture, leadership and systems thinking. Cases provide opportunities to analyze current health issues.

The Case studies in this resource are from Iraq, Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt, Sudan, Jordan, and Yemen, focusing on major outbreaks occurred in each country such as dengue outbreak in Yemen, Diphtheria outbreak in Sudan, MERS-COV in Saudi Arabia and Hepatitis E in Pakistan and main health issues that are being investigated such as COVID19 pandemic, infectious diseases in Mass Gatherings in Iraq, hemorrhagic diseases in Sudan.

How to Use This Resource

Almost all academic textbooks are linear and are read from page 1 to the end. Teaching Case Studies is not like that and is designed to be taken apart and each part exploited to support learning. This book covers 31 teaching case studies with focus on real examples and data from the EMR. Each case study includes the story that models the best practice (at the time of publishing) in healthcare settings.

The case studies can be used online in a learning management system or in a classroom discussion. This flexibility is intentional and allows the educator to choose how best to convey the concepts presented in each case to the learner and allows to create learning opportunities to match the learning objectives of the curriculum and the needs of the student.

Each case study can be used as adjunct training material for novice epidemiology trainees mainly. The case study is ideally taught by a facilitator in groups of about 20 participants or via online system.

Target Audience

Case studies were developed for public health workers mainly novice field epidemiology students. These participants are commonly health care workers working in the country departments of health whose background may be as medical doctors, nurses, environmental health officers or laboratory scientists who work in public health-related fields. Most have a health science or biology background. Moreover, these cases studies can be used for training students enrolled in academic public health programs.