At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ASPH engaged the appropriate experts to develop a model of core competencies for the public health preparedness and response workforce. This effort was supported by a cooperative agreement with the CDC, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (CDC PHPR).

This model fulfilled a mandate in the 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act to develop “a competency-based training program to train public health practitioners.” The competency model is a proposed national standard of behaviorally-based, observable skills for the workforce to prepare for and respond to all-hazards scenarios. In keeping with the National Response Framework and Target Capabilities List, all-hazards includes terrorist attacks, natural disasters, emerging infectious disease, health emergencies, environmental threats, and/or other major events such as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, high-yield explosives (CBRNE), and food and agriculture events.

The co-chairs, Dr. Audrey Gotsch (UMDNJ) and Dr. C. William Keck, and the Leadership Group guided the project toward completion in December 2010. Click here for a list of the Leadership Group members.

The model:

• Represents individual competencies that mid-level workers, regardless of their employment setting, are expected to demonstrate to assure readiness. It includes neither entry-level workers with limited experience in public health nor staff in high-level leadership positions.

• Targets proficiency as the level of competence that mid-level workers are expected to demonstrate to assure readiness. Other workers may be required by a specific position or activity to achieve expert competence.

• Defines a mid-level public health worker as an individual with:

  • Five years experience with an MPH equivalent or higher degree in public health, or
  • 10 years experience with a high school diploma, bachelors, or non-public health graduate degree. 

Aside from years of experience and education, these workers may have responsibilities for: program support and coordination, program development, program implementation, program evaluation, establishing and maintaining community relations, managing timelines and work plans, presenting arguments and recommendations on policy issues, etc.

To provide a few examples, mid-level public health workers included in the target audience for this model could represent:

• Administrative supervisors, such as payroll supervisors, purchasing managers, and human resources staff;
• Chief clerks of vital records;
• Public health nurses who run well-child clinics, immunization programs, STD testing and/or who also may assist with epidemiological tasks;
• Public health sanitarians who: undertake routine food, water, pool, and/or restaurant inspections; conduct food worker training; and/or, may help with epidemiological tasks; and,
• Senior laboratory technicians who support laboratory scientists and others in organizing, conducting, and reporting lab tests.

Such mid-level workers may or may not directly provide the ten essential public health services as part of their daily jobs. In the event of an "all hands on deck" emergency, however, organizational leaders may need to use the full range of available human resources to support response and recovery. Each organization will make a decision about which employees to include in the audience for training and exercises applying these core competencies.

Next Steps in 2011

Completed Work

Submit comments on the competency model to competency@asph.org.

Last updated April 11, 2011.