Disease Intervention

We train the disease intervention workforce to support individuals with communicable infections and those that may be at risk of infection.

DIS team photo

Disease Intervention Training Center (DITC) 

Since 1995, CAPTC’s Disease Intervention Training Center (DITC) has been funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to train the nation’s disease intervention workforce. Disease intervention specialists (DIS) support people with communicable infections and those who may be at risk of infection. This includes contact tracing, case investigation, partner services, and emergency response.

We create innovative curricula and online training modules on all skill sets necessary for DIS to effectively serve the community. In addition to HIV/STI training, we led national training efforts to address COVID-19. Additionally, we provide training for DIS around various communicable infections from tuberculosis to mpox.

Our staff has decades of experience as contact tracers and outreach workers in STI/HIV disease intervention services. We provide knowledge, tools, and techniques suitable for both beginners and seasoned professionals to excel as a DISs.

Contact us and let us know how we can support you

STI Clinical Training

We support healthcare providers in the Western United States (AZ, CA, HI, NM, and NV) to improve clinical outcomes for those affected by sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

Instructor and 2 students with microscopes

Upcoming Trainings

Ina, Alice, Sharon holding plush toys of viruses

Regional Training Center, National Network of STD Clinical Prevention (NNPTC)

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), CAPTC supports healthcare providers in the western United States (AZ, CA, HI, NM, and NV) to improve clinical outcomes for those affected by sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

We provide in-person and virtual training events, technical assistance, clinical tools, and STI clinical consultation (via the STD Clinical Consultation Network) to support providers in addressing the rise of STIs in their communities. We focus on complex issues in patient care including evolving PrEP modalities, congenital syphilis management and prevention, and complications of gonorrhea and chlamydia. Our faculty consists of physicians and nurses who are subject matter experts in the field of sexual health with extensive academic, clinical, and public health experience in STI control and response.

The CAPTC Clinical Program has been funded for over 30 years by the CDC and is part of the National Network of STD Clinical Prevention Training Centers (NNPTC). CAPTC also has a long-standing partnership with the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) STD Control Branch to deliver training on STI diagnosis and treatment to California counties experiencing high rates of STIs. CDPH and CAPTC regularly collaborate on issuing statewide guidance related to STI screening and treatment, as well as creating co-branded job aids and educational materials for providers throughout the state.

CAPTC is also proud to collaborate with San Francisco City Clinic (SFCC), San Francisco’s preeminent municipal STI clinic, to offer observerships in sexual health care. Clinicians interested in arranging a shadowing experience at SFCC of up to 4 half-days (which could potentially be structured to 2 full days, depending on the learner’s needs) can contact us at captc@ucsf.edu to learn more.

Services Offered

Clinicians: Got a Tough STI Question?

We are a proud member of the STD Clinical Consultation Network (STDCCN) Opens in a new tab operated by the NNPTC.

This service is intended for licensed healthcare professionals and STI public health program staff. We do not provide direct medical care, treatment planning or medical treatment services to individuals.

Featured Resource

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STD Expert Hour Webinar – Understanding the Concerning Rise in Maternal and Congenital Syphilis in Hawaii

Oct 13, 2020

The California Prevention Training Center (CAPTC) and the STI/HIV Prevention Program at the Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s (HIDOH) Harm Reduction Services Branch present this webinar for healthcare providers and community service providers who work with communities that face cultural, economic, and language barriers to obtaining good prenatal and neonatal care.

This webinar will address the increasing rate of syphilis cases within Hawaii, with a special focus on maternal syphilis and congenital syphilis. Learners will gain an understanding of the local epidemiology of syphilis as well as the important role the Hawaii Department of Health performs in syphilis case follow-up and investigation. An overview of the pathophysiology of syphilis with its varied clinical manifestations will be discussed. Content will include the importance of staging, stage-based treatment as well as best practices for diagnosis and follow-up.

Providing Family PACT Services During COVID-19 Part 2: Understanding Benefit Changes

September 17, 2020

The ongoing COVID-19 public health emergency has caused a shift from providing exclusively in-person services to a combination of remote and in-person visits, referred to as “hybrid visits”. This webinar will provide an update of how Family PACT services (client encounters) have changed since March, 2020.

The following topics are covered in detail:

  • Medi-Cal/Family PACT policy for telephonic-only remote visits.
  • A series of case studies including contraceptive visits, evaluation of genital tract infections, well person visits, and a colposcopy visit, with an emphasis on coding and billing Family PACT.

Presenters:

Resources

STD Expert Hour Webinar – Delivering Sexual Health Services in the Time of COVID-19

August 13, 2020

The coronavirus (COVID-19) is impacting the delivery of sexual health services in California and throughout the United States. Dr. Ina Park and Dr. Rosalyn Plotzker provide an overview of recent CDC recommendations for STD diagnosis and treatment when in-person exams and visits are limited. They also discuss best practices for the use of telehealth and home-testing for STD care and PrEP management.

Drs. Park and Plotzker cover the following learning objectives for this webinar:

  1. Share implementation strategies for self-collected testing to minimize clinician exposure to COVID-19 when seeing clients for STD-related symptoms
  2. Identify changes to recommended syndromic treatment of urethritis, including treatment for gonorrhea and chlamydia
  3. Describe management recommendations for patients with genital ulcer disease
  4. Discuss HIV PrEP telehealth management approaches to ensure continuation of PrEP use for clients who are unable to get care in a clinic setting during and after the COVID-19 public health emergency

Implementing the 2019 ASCCP Risk-Based Management Guidelines for Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Tests in Your Practice

July 23, 2020

The long-awaited new ASCCP Management Guideline App is now available, as well as the print version of the 2019 Guidelines. The new guidelines are streamlined for ease of use and can be significantly more individualized than the 2012 guidance by integrating information about an individual’s previous screening test and biopsy results, and personal factors such as age and immunosuppression. The guidelines now provide recommended follow up for all 3 available cervical screening strategies.

The following topics are covered in detail:

  • The rationale used in developing the Guidelines
  • How various abnormalities should be managed
  • Interactive demonstrations of how to use the app
  • Specific considerations for the application of Family PACT benefits, including coding and billing

Learning objectives: At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:

  1. Describe the risk-based paradigm for managing abnormal cervical cancer screening test results.
  2. Explain how risk-thresholds guide the clinical actions of immediate treatment, colposcopy, and short-interval follow up.
  3. Demonstrate use of the ASCCP app to apply the new guidelines to patient care.

Presenters:

Resources

STD Expert Hour Webinar – Genital Dermatology 101

June 1, 2020

Dr. Kenneth Katz covers the following learning objectives for this webinar:

  1. Differentiate between genital skin diseases
  2. Formulate differential diagnoses for genital skin disease
  3. Identify genital skin diseases that warrant referral to specialty care

Providing Family PACT Services During COVID-19 Part 1: Clinical Considerations

May 8, 2020

Since March 2020, most providers of family planning services in California have shifted patient care from in-person visits to remote visits. This webinar will be conducted in a “frequently asked questions” format, focusing on the adaptations that clinicians should make in order to successfully provide family planning care remotely during the public health emergency and afterward.

The following topics are covered in detail:

  • Subjects will include the role of blood pressure measurement before prescribing combined hormonal contraception
  • The use of injectable birth control subcutaneous depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA-SQ)
  • Syndromic treatment of sexually transmitted infections
  • Pregnancy testing without a clinic visit.
  • Recently enacted Family PACT and Medi-Cal policies regarding telehealth visits and remote enrollment of clients into the Family PACT program.

Presenters:

Resources

Clinical Practice Alert: Cervical Cancer Screening and Emergency Contraception

March 24, 2020

This webinar features two new Family PACT Clinical Practice Alerts.

Cervical Cancer Screening

Topics in this portion of the webinar will include benefits through Family PACT that have been expanded to include high-risk HPV-alone screening, use of this test, alternative cervical cancer screening options, and new guidelines regarding cervical cancer screening for females who are HIV positive or who are immunocompromised.

Emergency Contraception

Topics in this portion of the webinar will include the relationship between body weight and emergency contraception failure rates, when oral contraceptives can be started with females who have used ulipristal acetate, options for accessing emergency contraceptive pills and the use of the copper IUD as emergency contraception.

Presenters:

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STD Expert Hour Webinar – PrEP: What’s the 2- 1-1?

August 13, 2019

Dr. Oliver Bacon facilitates an audience-led panel discussion with PrEP Experts and covers the following learning objectives for this webinar:

  1. Be familiar with the evidence supporting 2-1-1 PrEP (also known as on-demand PrEP, sex-based PrEP, and pericoital PrEP)
  2. Be able to counsel patients on the details of 2-1-1 dosing, including how to switch between 2-1-1 and daily PrEP
  3. Be familiar with the current thinking about how to offer 2-1-1 dosing (who would & would not benefit from 2-1-1 dosing, how to prescribe, & follow-up care)