At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ASPH is engaging the appropriate experts to develop a proposed model of core competencies for the public health preparedness and response workforce. This effort is supported by a Cooperative Agreement with the CDC, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (CDC OPHPR).

This project will fulfill a mandate in the 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act to develop “a competency-based training program to train public health practitioners.” It is intended that the competency model will provide 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 COTPER Board of Scientific Counselors is expected to deliberate on the proposed model that results from the ASPH efforts and provide recommendations for its implementation.

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

The model will:

• Represent individual competencies that mid-level workers 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.

• Target 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.

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

  • 10 years experience and a high school diploma, bachelor’s, or higher degree, or
  • 5 years experience with an MPH equivalent or higher degree¹

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.

Those examples are provided to give an idea of the employees in public health organizations who fit within the target audience for the pending competency model. Individual agency directors and/or training program staff will have to make their own decisions about which employees to include in this target audience. Click here to download a summary of the project tenets and target audience.

¹Definition adapted from the Council on Linkages definition for Tier 2 (Mid Tier) workers – see http://www.phf.org/link/CCs-matrix.pdf].

Next Steps in 2010

Completed Work

Request for Volunteers

If you are an expert in public health preparedness and/or response, then consider volunteering to distill the essential core competencies for the public health workforce. The time commitment is anticipated to run through December 2010. The hours you spend will depend on your level of availability and the particular step in the development process. Since the competency model will be for the workforce, ASPH particularly encourages public health practitioners to volunteer. Email John McElligott at jmcelligott@asph.org.

Town Hall Meeting in Philadelphia

On November 8, a public Town Hall meeting was held as a part of the ASPH Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA. Click here for slides from the presentation phase of the Town Hall. Click here for the minutes from the Town Hall.

Centers for Public Health Preparedness Meeting

On September 1, representatives of the CDC-funded Centers for Public Health Preparedness met in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Andrea Young of the CDC Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, updated the representatives on recent progress for the comptency project. Click here for Dr. Young's presentation.

August 2009 Leadership Group Meeting #2

On August 31, the Leadership Group met in Atlanta, GA to review outcomes from the August 26-27 Workgroup. Attendees discussed and refined the draft domains and they brainstormed potential competencies for each of the draft domains. Click here for minutes from the meeting.

August 2009 Workgroup Meeting

On August 26-27, a workgroup met in Atlanta, GA to discuss potential domains, to define the domains, and to create potential competencies for each of the draft domains.

June 2009 Leadership Group Meeting #1

On June 2-3, 2009, the Leadership Group met in Alexandria, VA to review: 1) the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) and 2) the model development charges and roles. They also identified: 1) model development process tenets and guidelines, 2) level of integration with existing frameworks/models, 3) target audience, and 4) levels of performance (if applicable). The attendees specified: 1) model framework, 2) performance domains, and 3) core competencies. Click here for Dr. Daniel Sosin's presentation. Click here for minutes from the meeting.

Last updated January 29, 2010.