Background: Epidemiologists play a crucial role in pandemic preparedness planning, yet focused training in this area is limited. This presentation describes the development, evaluation and improvement of a workshop on pandemic preparedness planning delivered for students enrolled in the Master of Philosophy in Applied Epidemiology (MAE) program.

Methods: Using a case study design, we describe the pilot workshop, evaluation findings, changes made to workshop design, and evaluation of the revised workshop. We collected data from students using an online questionnaire, which included questions about learning activities and learning outcomes. For all questions, a 5-point Likert scale was used.

Results: The project was initiated through collaboration between the MAE program and the World Health Organization and adapted for the Australian context with input from epidemiologists and researchers. The topics of the workshop included components of a plan, leadership and management, one health, social determinants of health (SDH), communication, and testing and updating the plan. Twelve out of 15 students participated in the evaluation of the pilot workshop in February 2025. The results showed the need for improved content and delivery, with a mean score for topics ranging from 2.9 for learning about SDH to 4 for learning about components of a plan. We amended time allocation, some session content and activity structure. We implemented the revised workshop in February 2026 with 15 students, of whom 12 participated in the evaluation. The mean scores for all topics improved, with a range from 0.1 to 1. The highest score improvements were observed for learning about SDH and communication.

Conclusion: The workshop provided opportunities for students to learn about pandemic preparedness planning and aspects that should be considered in such a plan. Pandemic preparedness planning is a useful narrative device for teaching cross-cutting themes, such as communication, one health and social determinants of health.