Rebuilding to shape a better future: the role of young professionals in the public health workforce

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear the extreme needs of the public health workforce. As societies discuss how to build up the capacity and infrastructure of their systems, it is crucial that young professionals are involved. Previous attempts to incorporate young professionals into the public health workforce have wrestled with inaccessibility, tokenisation, and a lack of mentorship, leading to a loss of potential workforce members and a non-representative workforce that reinforces systemic societal exclusion of diverse young people. These barriers must be addressed through robust mentorship structures, intentional recruitment and continuous support, as well as genuine recognition of the contributions of young professionals to build the sustainable, interdisciplinary, unified public health that is necessary for the future.

The dawn of digital public health in Europe: Implications for public health policy and practice

“…Young professionals – namely, youth – constitute an untapped resource within the public health workforce (PHWF) and present a great opportunity for strengthening both the digital health capacity and digital readiness of (public) health systems in which they are employed. 43 , 44 Additionally the involvement and engagement of youth via multidisciplinary public-private partnerships between academia, governments, civil society, and other relevant stakeholder groups can further strengthen governance processes related to DPH. However, youth must be enfranchised to structurally contribute to the promotion and adoption of DPH technologies (e.g.…”

Experiences Shared by the (Future) Public Health Workforce during the COVD-19 Pandemic in Germany: Results of A Survey on Workload, Work Content, and Related Challenges among Students and Young Professionals

“…This applies to participants who have been studying or employed at that time. Among public health professionals, one can expect particular challenges in retaining work-life-balance during the COVID-19 pandemic [18], because their expertise and workforce was urgently needed [19][20][21]. However, there were also some aspects where the burden has been perceived quite differently in our study, emphasizing that targeted or tailored approaches are needed.…”

“…Until now, the public health workforce had to operate with minimal resources and was characterized by a "lack of continuing education, shortage of professional staff, low wages, and a lack of professional organisations to safeguard employment rights" [37]. During the COVID-19 pandemic, young professionals may have experienced a frustrating disconnect between demand and availability of public health infrastructure -consisting of a capable and qualified workforce, up-to-date data and information systems, and agencies capable of assessing and responding to public health needs -on a daily basis [21]. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a public and political focus on these issues.…”

“…Therefore, it has created a window of opportunity to create change [38]. This might be particularly useful for young professionals, who are a great potential for the field of public health [21].…”

Doctor of Public Health-Crisis Management and COVID-19 Prevention and Control: A Case Study in China

“…The recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has exposed the global shortage of workers in the fields of public health and health care (1) and, in particular, the need for skilled leaders and managers to translate public health research into effective policies and programs to manage emerging public health threats, staff response efforts, and improve population health (2)(3)(4)(5). To respond to the ongoing exigencies of public health and health care that have been exacerbated by COVID-19, countries have developed various emergency strategies to strengthen their public healthcare systems.…”