Public Health Workforce Gaps, Impacts, and Improvement Strategies from COVID-19

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Workforce Studies
• Pandemic Preparedness

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the critical role of the public health workforce.
• Significant gaps and challenges within the public health workforce were exposed during the pandemic.
• Understanding these workforce deficits is essential for future public health resilience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate local public health practitioners' perceptions of workforce gaps in Minnesota.
• To analyze the impacts of these identified workforce gaps.
• To capture lessons learned by practitioners in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Main Methods:

• Conducted seven focus groups with 55 members of the Local Public Health Association of Minnesota (LPHA).
• Administered a survey to 70 local public health agencies, achieving a 97% response rate.
• Utilized qualitative thematic analysis and quantitative descriptive analyses, integrating both data types.

Main Results:

• Practitioners reported numerous workforce gaps and their associated impacts.
• Identified improvement strategies were proposed by participants.
• Findings revealed common themes in workforce challenges and impacts, consistent with national observations.

Conclusions:

• The study highlights substantial public health workforce gaps and their consequences, as perceived by Minnesota practitioners.
• The identified issues and proposed solutions hold relevance for the broader national public health workforce.
• Addressing these workforce deficits is vital for enhancing public health infrastructure and response capabilities.