Northern Nevada Public Health: Utilizing the Public Health Workforce Calculator and Workforce Capacity...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Workforce Development

Background:

• National understaffing and infrastructure deficits challenge public health departments.
• Assessing current staffing against Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) provides a framework for investment justification.
• Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) sought to evaluate its workforce capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Public Health Workforce Calculator and complementary tools for identifying and prioritizing FPHS workforce needs in a practical setting.
• To assess the utility of these tools for guiding public health workforce investments.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a field application of the Public Health Workforce Calculator alongside FPHS workforce capacity self-assessment tools.
• Collaborated with Northern Nevada Public Health (NNPH) from June 2022 to April 2023.
• Compared calculator outputs with self-assessment data to identify workforce capacity gaps.

Main Results:

• The calculator and self-assessment tools generated complementary data on FPHS workforce capacity gaps.
• A structured, transparent process with prioritization tools proved effective for public health workforce investment planning.
• NNPH successfully used the findings to support funding requests and appropriations.

Conclusions:

• Utilizing the Public Health Workforce Calculator and FPHS self-assessment within a facilitated process can effectively identify staffing priorities.
• This approach shows promise for supporting decision-making and justifying infrastructure resource allocation for public health.
• The methodology offers a viable strategy for future public health funding increases.