As the post-9/11 spotlight on shoring up the nation’s public health system fades, local health departments face a mounting workforce crisis as they struggle to recruit, train, and retain qualified workers ranging from nurses to epidemiologists, according to a research brief released April 16 by the Center for Studying Health System Change. Factors influencing the workforce shortage include inadequate funding, uncompetitive salaries and benefits, an exodus of retiring workers, insufficient supply of trained workers, and lack of enthusiasm for public health as a career choice, according to the brief, Public Health Workforce Shortages Imperil the Nation’s Health.
Shortages of critical personnel and deficits in key skill areas ranged from significant to severe across public health agencies in each of the six communities, with general agreement that public health nurses are the most difficult personnel to recruit and retain, according to the study. Read the research brief.
