There has never been a better time to pursue a career in public health. Recently, there has been significant press related to an ASPH assessment which found that in excess of 250,000 additional public health workers will be needed by 2020 in order to avert a public health crisis (ASPH Friday Letter #1507). Over 23% of the current workforce is eligible to retire by 2012. There are forecasted shortages of epidemiologists, health care educators, administrators, public health physicians and nurses.

Deans, members of 23 ASPH member schools, and ASPH representatives, met in February 2008 to discuss the need to invest in public health education, research, and training. The ASPH members met with Congressional representatives in support of the enactment of the Public Health Preparedness Workforce Development Act (S. 1882, Durbin, Hagel and H.R. 5496, Matsui), enactment of the Global Health Services bill and reauthorization of the Farm Bill. They also discussed the need for provisions that would expand research and programs related to the development and implementation of policies that foster integration of individual and community public health, food systems and physical activity initiatives, as well as expanded access to food assistance programs.

In addition to recommending increased funding to NIH, CDC, HRSA and AHRQ, the representatives highlighted a crisis faced by the public health workforce. “Our nation must increase the capacity to train the next generation of public health professionals, and create new incentives to recruit individuals to work in Federal, State, Local and Tribal Health Departments…Added resources, combined with student recruitment efforts, have the potential to dramatically increase the numbers of highly trained public health workers” (ASPH Statement on the Public Health Workforce, Linda Rosenstock, [Dean, UCLA School of Public Health]).

In order to educate the 250,000 additional public health workers needed by 2020, schools of public health must increase their number of graduates three-fold over the next twelve years. Currently, the 40 accredited schools of public health are training over 85 percent of public health graduates. Many schools do not have the resources or capacity to manage the larger class sizes necessary to accommodate the needed increase in trained public health workers by 2020. Schools of public health deans have advocated for an increase in HRSA Public Health Training Centers funding for loan repayment provision recently established under the PAHPA Act, and funding for CDC and HRSA workforce development programs. These funding mechanisms could help to turn the tide, enabling accredited schools of public health to accommodate greater numbers of funded students and consequently provide high quality education and training to many more future public health professionals.

Nancy Murphy Culbert
Saint Louis University School of Public Health