Bridging continents

Purpose: Increasing travel, climate change, spread of antimicrobial resistance and pandemics increased the need for welltrained infectious diseases (ID) specialists and qualified ID specialist training for protecting public health all over the world. In this study, we aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of ID specialty training programs for standardization and quality improvement in a large geographical area. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study among national respondents of 29 countries [Central Asia (Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan), the Middle East (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Iraq, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Lebanon), Southeast Europe (Albania, Greece, Kosovo, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the Republic of North Macedonia, Croatia), Eastern Europe (Russia, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria), South Asia (India, Pakistan, Afghanistan), Southeast Asia (Malaysia), Türkiye] to evaluate the structure and components of ID training programs. Results: In this study, structural variability in ID training programs was notable. 65.5% of the countries offered independent specialty program, 59% of the countries reported a required exam for entry into the ID specialization. Nearly all of the countries had a formal training curriculum