The impact of the COVID-19 response on the provision of other public health services in the U.S.: A cross sectional study

Abstract

Introduction Funding and staff formerly dedicated to routine public health tasks (e.g., responding to communicable and non-communicable diseases, investigating foodborne outbreaks, conducting routine surveillance) and services (e.g., environmental health, substance abuse, maternal-child health) may no longer be available in many public health departments due to the COVID-19 response. The objective of this study was to assess the extent to which staffing for essential public health services has been redirected to the COVID-19 response. Materials and methods This is a cross-sectional study using a survey distributed through the Qualtrics platform. Individuals (N = 298) working in public health across governmental and academic public health departments in the U.S. during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response were surveyed. Survey items measured multiple domains including professional experience (i.e., training, years of experience, content expertise, job functions, hours worked), mental and physical health status (i.e., generalized anxiety, depression, burnout), and career plans (i.e., pre-pandemic vs. current career plans). Results The total number of content expertise areas and programmatic functions covered by individual public health workers increased between January and September of 2020, with 26% (73 of 282) of respondents reporting an increase in both. The total number of respondents working in infectious disease and preparedness remained constant, while declines were reported in program evaluation (-36%) and health education (-27%) and increases were reported in disease investigation (+35%). Conclusions The provision of many essential public health functions and tasks have been limited or eliminated while the U.S. public health workforce responds to the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings highlight opportunities for funding and professional development of public health systems, both during and after the COVID-19 response, to help ensure the continuity of essential public health services, staffing sustainability, and preparedness for future public health emergencies in the U.S.

Rabies surveillance in the United States during 2020

“…13 The 10.2% decline in US testing was consistent with COV-ID-related rabies testing declines reported from Canada and Mexico. The COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed public health systems, 14 and stay-at-home orders may have resulted in reduced human-animal interactions. Despite a notable decrease in submissions, rabies case detection rates decreased by only a small amount, which may indicate that pandemicassociated impacts on testing were more prominent among lower-risk exposures.…”

We must practice what we preach: a framework to promote well-being and sustainable performance in the public health workforce in the United States

“…Public health professionals are faced with many pressures as COVID-19 increases the urgency and scope of their work and reduces their capacity to carry out core services [ 4 ]. The effects of this ongoing crisis on economic stability, food security, stress, and health services will likely influence health outcomes such as chronic disease [ 5 ], requiring a long-term response.…”

Foodborne Toxigenic Agents Investigated in Central Italy: An Overview of a Three-Year Experience (2018–2020)

“…According to a survey carried out in the U.S. on healthcare staff, several routinary services, including investigations related to other communicable diseases, foodborne outbreaks, public health surveillance and evaluation, and non-communicable disease responses were no longer available or heavily penalised, due to the burden of the COVID-19 impact. Foodborne outbreaks were specifically mentioned, highlighting a reduced ability to conduct surveillance, outbreak investigation or inspections [20]. To our knowledge, similar reports concerning the COVID-19 effects on FBDs in Italy have not been disseminated, but we can hypothesise that the drop in notifications may have had the same cause.…”