Understanding the local public health workforce: labels versus substance

The workforce is a key component of the nation's public health (PH) infrastructure, but little is known about the skills of local health department (LHD) workers to guide policy and planning.

To profile a sample of LHD workers using classification schemes for PH work (the substance of what is done) and PH job titles (the labeling of what is done) to determine if work content is consistent with job classifications.

A secondary analysis was conducted on data collected from 2,734 employees from 19 LHDs using a taxonomy of 151 essential tasks performed, knowledge possessed, and resources available. Each employee was classified by job title using a schema developed by PH experts. The inter-rater agreement was calculated within job classes and congruence on tasks, knowledge, and resources for five exemplar classes was examined.

The average response rate was 89%. Overall, workers exhibited moderate agreement on tasks and poor agreement on knowledge and resources. Job classes with higher agreement included agency directors and community workers; those with lower agreement were mid-level managers such as program directors.

Findings suggest that local PH workers within a job class perform similar tasks but vary in training and access to resources. Job classes that are specific and focused have higher agreement whereas job classes that perform in many roles show less agreement. The PH worker classification may not match employees' skill sets or how LHDs allocate resources, which may be a contributor to unexplained fluctuation in public health system performance.