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The Containment Scouts: First Insights into an Initiative to Increase the Public Health Workforce for Contact Tracing during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany

Author

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  • Dunja Said

    (Unit 37—Healthcare-Associated Infections, Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance and Consumption, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Seestraße 10, 13353 Berlin, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Simon Brinkwirth

    (Unit 37—Healthcare-Associated Infections, Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance and Consumption, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Seestraße 10, 13353 Berlin, Germany
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Angelina Taylor

    (Unit 37—Healthcare-Associated Infections, Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance and Consumption, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Seestraße 10, 13353 Berlin, Germany)

  • Robby Markwart

    (Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Jena University Hospital, Bachstraße 18, 07743 Jena, Germany)

  • Tim Eckmanns

    (Unit 37—Healthcare-Associated Infections, Surveillance of Antibiotic Resistance and Consumption, Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Robert Koch Institute, Seestraße 10, 13353 Berlin, Germany)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic in Germany has demanded a substantially larger public health workforce to perform contact tracing and contact management of COVID-19 cases, in line with recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO). In response, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) established the national “Containment Scout Initiative” (CSI) to support the local health authorities with a short-term workforce solution. It is part of a range of measures for strengthening the public health system in order to limit the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany. The CSI is an example of how solutions to address critical health system capacity issues can be implemented quickly. It also demonstrates that medical or health-related backgrounds may not be necessary to support health authorities with pandemic-specific tasks and fulfil accurate contact tracing. However, it is a short-term solution and cannot compensate for the lack of existing qualified staff as well as other deficits that exist within the public health sector in Germany. This article describes the structure and process of the first phase of this initiative in order to support health policymakers, public health practitioners, and researchers considering innovative and flexible approaches for addressing urgent workforce capacity issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Dunja Said & Simon Brinkwirth & Angelina Taylor & Robby Markwart & Tim Eckmanns, 2021. "The Containment Scouts: First Insights into an Initiative to Increase the Public Health Workforce for Contact Tracing during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Germany," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-10, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:9325-:d:628671
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Laura Arnold & Lisa Kellermann & Florian Fischer & Sophie Gepp & Franziska Hommes & Laura Jung & Amir Mohsenpour & Dagmar Starke & Jan M. Stratil, 2022. "What Factors Influence the Interest in Working in the Public Health Service in Germany? Part I of the OeGD-Studisurvey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-32, September.
    2. Kerstin Sell & Franziska Hommes & Florian Fischer & Laura Arnold, 2022. "Multi-, Inter-, and Transdisciplinarity within the Public Health Workforce: A Scoping Review to Assess Definitions and Applications of Concepts," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-23, September.
    3. Odgerel Chimed-Ochir & Jargalmaa Amarsanaa & Nader Ghotbi & Yui Yumiya & Ryoma Kayano & Frank Van Trimpont & Virginia Murray & Tatsuhiko Kubo, 2023. "Impact of COVID-19 on Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management System: A Scoping Review of Healthcare Workforce Management in COVID-19," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-25, July.

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