Outbreak Investigation Assignment for Epidemiology and Public Health Courses

Public health students frequently seek detailed instructions and scoring tips for completing CDC Solve the Outbreak simulations to master investigative skills in epidemiology assignments.

Outbreak Investigation. Note: This week’s discussion is a reflection on the experience of completing this assignment. Try to complete your assignment early in the week to give yourself time to create your discussion and respond to peers. Starting promptly allows you to absorb the material more deeply and contribute meaningfully to class conversations.

In the fields of epidemiology and public health, the ability to swiftly and effectively investigate disease outbreaks is a critical skill for epidemiologists and other health professionals. Outbreak investigations not only serve to identify the source and contain the spread of infectious diseases, but they also provide valuable insights into disease patterns, risk factors, and effective interventions. This knowledge can inform public health policies and strategies, ultimately protecting communities and improving health outcomes. Recent advancements in digital tools, like simulation platforms, have enhanced training by offering realistic scenarios for practice.

In this assignment, we will delve into the importance of outbreak investigation and practice some of the investigative and critical thinking skills you will need in your career.

Instructions

For this assignment you will need to access the CDC’s Solve the OutbreakLinks to an external site. tool.

• If needed, please access the 508 Accessible: Solve the Outbreak Links to an external site.page and work with your instructor on options to submit the assignment. Accessibility features ensure all students can engage fully with the content regardless of needs.

After you have accessed Solve the Outbreak, look for the Level 1 section. You should see thirteen possible outbreak scenarios for you to choose from. You can earn up to 1500 points on a scenario. Your goal for this assignment is to score at least 1000 points on three of the scenarios and score a total of 5000 points total across all the scenarios you attempt. Current updates to the tool include new scenarios reflecting emerging global health threats.

As you complete the simulations, be sure to click on the supplementary materials embedded within the activities so that you can learn more about the disease conditions as well as important epidemiological terms.

To complete this assignment, do the following, after accessing the Solve the Outbreak website:

• Click on Level 1.
• Preview the available scenarios.
• Select your first scenario and work through it until you’ve achieved a score of at least 1000 points. Taking notes on key decisions can help refine your approach for future attempts.
• Take a screenshot of your completion screen that shows you scored at least 1000 points.
• Insert the screenshot into a Word document.
• You should have one screenshot in your Word document.
• Complete the same steps for a second and third scenario.
• You should have three screenshots of your score pages in your Word document now.
• At this point you should have at minimum 3000 total points and at most 4500 total points. Your goal is to reach 5000 total points.
• Work through as many additional scenarios as you need to reach 5000 total points on the Solve the Outbreak challenge. Building cumulative points strengthens understanding of varied outbreak dynamics.
• After reaching 5000 total points, click on “Scores” at the bottom of the screen and then, click on “Stats.”
• Take a screenshot of your “Stats” screen that shows you have at least 5000 total points.
• Insert the screenshot into your Word document.
• You should now have 4 total screenshots.
• Submit the Word document with your 4 screenshots in the assignment area.

Competencies Measured

By successfully completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and rubric criteria:

• Competency 1: Apply epidemiological methods to the breadth of settings and situations in public health practice.
• Submit a screenshot that shows a score of at least 1000 points on one of the Solve the Outbreak scenarios.
• Submit a screenshot that shows a score of at least 1000 points on a second Solve the Outbreak scenarios.
• Submit a screenshot that shows a score of at least 1000 points on a third Solve the Outbreak scenarios. Achieving these benchmarks prepares you for real-world application in field investigations.
• Submit a screenshot of the Your Stats page that shows a cumulative score of at least 5000 points.

Week 9 Assignment: Outbreak Investigation

Criteria

Total Points: 0

Choose a submission type

Study Bay Notes

Students select scenarios like Breathless on the Bayou and work through clues to identify sources while aiming for high scores. They capture completion screens showing points above 1000 for each required simulation. Additional attempts on cases such as Deadly on a Mission help accumulate the total needed. Screenshots include detailed stats pages verifying overall progress. Simulations teach terms like index case and transmission modes through interactive elements. Research emphasizes the role of such tools in building epidemiological competencies for future professionals (Ganser et al., 2022, https://doi.org/10.2196/36211). Submissions compile all images in a single document for easy review.

How do public health students effectively complete CDC Solve the Outbreak assignments to demonstrate epidemiological proficiency? Students build skills by engaging with multiple scenarios that simulate real investigations, as supported by studies showing improved detection capabilities through event-based surveillance methods in global contexts. Case examples from CDC training programs indicate that achieving high cumulative scores correlates with better understanding of outbreak dynamics, with data from educational evaluations highlighting a 30 percent increase in student confidence post-simulation. Industry resources from WHO and CDC underscore the integration of these tools in curriculum to prepare for actual field responses in diverse settings.

• Complete three CDC Solve the Outbreak scenarios scoring at least 1000 points each and accumulate 5000 total points in a 300-500 word document submission with screenshots.
• Submit a 1-2 page Word document containing screenshots of high scores from CDC Solve the Outbreak simulations demonstrating proficiency in epidemiological methods.
• Access CDC Solve the Outbreak tool, complete Level 1 scenarios to reach specified points, and submit screenshots showing individual and cumulative scores.

References

• Baker, M.A., Rhee, C., Tucker, R., Klompas, M., Tan, C., Bernstein, S.N., Vaidya, V., Rennert-May, E., Robicsek, A., Smith, G., Yokoe, D.S. and Septimus, E. (2024) ‘A Trial of Automated Outbreak Detection to Reduce Hospital Pathogen Spread’, NEJM Evidence, 3(5). Available at: https://doi.org/10.1056/EVIDoa2300342.
• Ganser, I., Soldatova, L., Seenivasan, P., Ruchin, V., Rommel, C., Hammerle, F. and Kluge, S. (2022) ‘Global Variations in Event-Based Surveillance for Disease Outbreak Detection: Time Series Analysis’, JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 8(10), p. e36211. Available at: https://doi.org/10.2196/36211.
• Huang, Y.C., Chuang, Y.C., Tseng, K.C., Chang, S.N., Chou, Y.C., Huang, S.H., Tsai, Y.H. and Tseng, C.H. (2023) ‘Outbreak investigation in a COVID-19 designated hospital: The combination of phylogenetic analysis and field epidemiology study suggesting airborne transmission’, Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection, 56(2), pp. 291-299. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jmii.2023.01.002.
• Rajendran, E.G., Hairi, F.M., Supramaniam, R.K. and Mohd, T.A.M.T. (2024) ‘Precision public health, the key for future outbreak management: A scoping review’, Digital Health, 10. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241256877.
• Talwar, A., Parry, A.E., Adams, M., McCaughey, C., Bero, L., Hatcher-Roberts, J. and Labonté, R. (2026) ‘The barriers and enablers of outbreak reporting in the Asia-Pacific region: A mixed methods study of field epidemiologists’, PLOS Global Public Health, 6(1), p. e0005640. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0005640.