On Linkages: Confronting the Public Health Workforce Crisis: ASPH Statement on the Public Health Workforce

Abstract

Dramatic public health advances in the 20th century have improved quality of life-an increase in life expectancy, worldwide reduction in infant and child mortality, and the elimination or reduction of numerous life-threatening communicable diseases. These achievements could not have occurred without the research, practice, and service of professionals who comprise the public health workforce. This multidisciplinary workforce includes public health clinicians, occupational and environmental health specialists, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, health program administrators and educators, health economists, planners, and policy analysts. Employed by governmental public health agencies, community-based service organizations, academic and research institutions, private organizations, hospitals, health plans, and medical groups, these professionals function broadly, with activities including health surveillance, protection, promotion, planning, regulation, and health services organization, delivery, and evaluation. 1 The world increasingly relies upon the public health workforce to confront emerging communicable diseases (e.g., Ebola and avian influenza), prevent environmental hazards (e.g., protect food security and combat climate change) and chronic disease (e.g., obesity and

The Training of Epidemiologists and Diversity in Epidemiology: Findings from the 2006 Congress of Epidemiology Survey

“…The focus of epidemiology has evolved from description of diseases and exposures that lead to disease, to include genes, the environment, and social factors (5). The field of epidemiology has grown to encompass a number of subspecialties such as neuroepidemiology, pharmacoepidemiology, social epidemiology, psychiatric epidemiology, and genetic epidemiology (1, 4, 5). Although this growth has helped epidemiology to become a major factor in solving many of the public health problems of society, it has also led to the field becoming somewhat fractionated with a lack of standardization, raising the question of what are the fundamental competencies of the profession (5, 6).…”

Incorporating practical application in graduate introductory public health courses

“…An important characteristic of a SPH is creating a learning environment that fosters interdisciplinary communication and a broader framework for problem-solving and critical thinking (CEPH, 2011). As public health issues become increasingly complex, multi-disciplinary collaboration between specialists and stakeholders across health fields is a necessity (Rosenstock et al, 2008;IOM, 2012), with projects that promote teamwork essential to graduate education (Evans et al, 2011). CBL-assessments, such as the CCS, may prepare students for future work in this environment by fostering multi-disciplinary team-based collaboration.…”

“…There are key considerations in recruiting and educating a sustainable and successful public health workforce, which include forecasted workforce shortages (Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, 2007;Rosenstock et al, 2008), lack of diversity in the field (Sullivan, 2004) and the growing complexity of public health issues (Rosenstock et al, 2008). To address this, SPH must increase their number of graduates threefold by 2020 (Rosenstock et al, 2008).…”

“…To address this, SPH must increase their number of graduates threefold by 2020 (Rosenstock et al, 2008). In response, many schools have expanded their public health education programs to include undergraduate-level majors and minors, accelerated MPH programs and undergraduate introductory courses (Albertine, 2008;Bass et al, 2008).…”

Development of an Online Course in Public Health for Undergraduates

“…As the demand for public health professionals increases, developing degrees and certificates that can be offered online expands the reach of public health education and offers the opportunity to expand the public health workforce in an exponential way (Rosenstock et al, 2008). As of spring 2014, there were 97 accredited public health programs or schools that offered degrees in a fully online or partially online format (Council on Education for Public Health, 2014).…”