Public Health Workforce
Our public health workforce supports healthy communities at the local, state, national and global levels.
They are the epidemiologists preventing infectious and chronic disease, policy analysts developing environmental health regulations and communications experts promoting healthy eating and safe driving.
These workers are essential to protect the general public, and we are facing a dangerous shortage. Local and state health departments need an additional 80,000 full-time employees just to provide basic public health services, let alone respond to major crises.
Take action for the future of public health
Public health threats don't wait, and neither can we. We must urge our elected officials to prioritize increased funding for the public health workforce.
Act now:
- Urge your members of Congress to prioritize public health funding in fiscal year 2025 before the Subcommittee Markup on June 27, and let them know you want to see funding earmarked for Public Health AmeriCorps and other innovative workforce development models!
- Ask your representatives to support the Public Health Workforce Loan Repayment Program to make public health careers more accessible to diverse professionals.
- Learn about and support the Public Health Infrastructure Save Lives Act.
- Educate yourself on workplace policies that can support a healthy workforce:
- Advocate for paid sick leave, including mental health days.
- Champion peer support and mental health services.
- Advocate for diversity in recruitment efforts.
- Invest in training that addresses implicit bias and cultural competency.
Watch Dr. Nadine Gracia of Trust for America’s Health speak on the critical need for sustained funding of the public health workforce:
Solutions to Build a Skilled and Diverse Public Health Workforce
To address workforce challenges, we need innovative models that can help us build a robust and sustainable public health workforce. Over the last few years, historic investments through the American Rescue Plan showed how funding leads to innovative solutions. The $5 billion invested in workforce at the state and local levels produced programs that emphasize workforce diversification, bringing new public health workers into communities. Learn more in APHA's town hall on New Approaches to Investing in the Next Generation of Public Health Leaders:
Additional Resources
Continue to build your knowledge and expertise of critical public health workforce issues with these resources from APHA partners:
- Public Health AmeriCorps is a joint effort of AmeriCorps and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to “support the recruitment, training and development of the next generation of public health leaders who will be ready to respond to the nation’s public health needs."
- The federal HRSA Bureau of Health Workforce aims to strengthen the health workforce and connect providers to underserved communities.
- The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health is a leading organization in educating and training public health professionals to tackle emerging challenges and advance health equity. ASPPH's Center for Workforce Development is dedicated to enhancing and reinforcing the public health workforce to safeguard and improve the health of all populations.
- The CDC Public Health Workforce Programs emphasizes the significance of having a robust workforce for public health emergencies and community health.
- The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey discusses workforce demographics, stress levels, and training needs for public health professionals.
- National Public Health Week is a time to recognize the contributions of public health and highlight issues that are important to improving our nation's health.
- The Center for Creative Leadership is a nonprofit provider of leadership development and a pioneer in the field of global leadership research
- The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials supports local and state public health agencies with innovative strategies to enhance equitable health.