UTech certifies 23 contact investigators to strengthen national public health response

KINGSTON, Jamaica—With an estimated 28,000 Jamaicans living with HIV, STIs and other forms of communicable diseases, strengthening disease prevention and surveillance remains an institutional and national priority.

Playing a key role in advancing this national effort, the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech, Jamaica), through its School of Public Health and Health Technology in the Joint Colleges of Medicine, Oral Health, and Veterinary Sciences, in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Wellness, has certified 23 healthcare professionals in the second cohort of its contact investigator programme.

The nine-month programme delivered in collaboration with UTechOpen: School of Lifelong Learning and Professional Development is designed to develop a cadre of health professionals capable of identifying, tracing, interviewing, documenting, and following up with contacts of individuals diagnosed with communicable diseases, particularly HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis (TB).