Qualitative Insights From Governmental Public Health Employees About Experiences Serving During the COVID-19 Pandemic, PH WINS 2021

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of the current study was to examine governmental public health employee experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design and Setting: A total of 5169 responses to a PH WINS 2021 open-ended question were qualitatively coded. The question asked employees to share their experiences during the COVID-19 response. The 15 most common themes are discussed.Participants: Responses from governmental public health employees in state health agencies (SHAs), big cities (Big City Health Coalition or BCHC agencies), and local health departments (LHDs) across all 50 states were included. Results: The most frequently identified theme was pride in public health work and/or the mission of public health (20.8%), followed by leadership (17.2%), burnout or feeling overwhelmed (14%), communication (11.7%), and overtime/extra work (9.7%). Among the top 15 themes identified, comments about pride in public health work and/or the mission of public health (95.9%), teamwork (81.5%), and telework (61%) were predominantly positive. Co-occurring themes for responses that expressed pride in public health work and/or the mission of public health were often countered with explanations of why respondents remain frustrated, including feeling burned out or overwhelmed, disappointment with the community's sense of responsibility or trust in science, and feeling unappreciated either by the community or their agency. All of these co-occurring themes were predominantly negative. Conclusions: Employees are proud to work in public health and value teamwork but often felt overworked and unappreciated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reviewing existing emergency preparedness protocols in the context of lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic and listening to employees' experiences with teleworking and task sharing may better prepare agencies for future challenges. Creating channels for clear communication during a period of changing information and guidelines may help employees feel more prepared and valued during an emergency response.

Facilitated Asynchronous Online Learning to Build Public Health Strategic Skills

“…The US public health system has been chronically underfunded, resulting in a workforce that is limited in size5,10,16 and desiring skills to be equipped to meet current and future needs 6,14,15,17. In response to a global pandemic and ensuing public health crisis, the US government is investing unprecedented levels of funding to help rebuild 9.…”

“…The US public health system has been chronically underfunded, resulting in a workforce that is limited in size 5,10,16 and desiring skills to be equipped to meet current and future needs. 6,14,15,17 In response to a global pandemic and ensuing public health crisis, the US government is investing unprecedented levels of funding to help rebuild. 9 While the earmarked funding for public health systems and workforce development is an important step, 6,7 other important factors influencing success must be considered.…”

“…6,14,15,17 In response to a global pandemic and ensuing public health crisis, the US government is investing unprecedented levels of funding to help rebuild. 9 While the earmarked funding for public health systems and workforce development is an important step, 6,7 other important factors influencing success must be considered.…”

“…Our overarching goal was to help build generalizable and transferrable public health knowledge and skills to grow learners' confidence in their ability to prevent and address their communities' current and future public health needs, including those related to climate change. Given the large number of new public health staff being hired into both governmental and nongovernmental positions, 9 and the existing staff taking on expanded responsibilities, 6 we sought to reach those not formally trained in public health but working to advance public health either in government public health or in affiliate organizations. We aimed to develop an intervention that would rapidly orient people newly working in public health or those taking on new roles; equip them to support the core functions and essential services; reduce supervisor burden and strain of orientation (amidst the public health emergency); and develop cohorts of workers who share language, paradigms, and trust.…”

“…the United States would face a shortfall of public health workers by 2020 4 ; little action was taken, and per capita workforce numbers continued to fall. 5 The COVID-19 pandemic showed the severity of the underresourced public health workforce [6][7][8] and spurred significant government investments for hiring, training, and systems development. 9 Current estimates suggest that more than 100 000 additional public health workers are needed to meet core needs.…”