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Pre-Pandemic Landscape of the Oklahoma Public Health Workforce: A Case Study From the Region 6 Training Needs
Kerstin M Reinschmidt1, Slate Boyer, Kristen Eberly
1Author Affiliations: Oklahoma Public Health Training Center, Department of Health Promotion Sciences at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Dr M. Reinschmidt); North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, Bismark, North Dakota (Mr Boyer); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia (Ms Eberly); formerly Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Hudson College of Public Health at The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Mr Boyer and Ms Eberly); Region 6 South Central Public Health Training Center, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana (Mr Shorter); and Southern Plains Tribal Health Board, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Mr Dickens).
Context:
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a well-trained public health workforce prior to the public health crisis. Public health training centers regularly assess workforce needs and their pre-pandemic data play vital roles in guiding public health workforce development beyond the crisis.
Program:
In 2019, Oklahoma partners of the Region 6 South Central Public Health Training Center (R6SCPHTC) co-conducted an online survey of the public health workforce located in the Health Resources & Services Administration Region 6.
Implementation:
Between March and April, the R6SCPHTC collected 503 surveys, including 201 surveys from Oklahoma. Questions inquired about demographic and workforce characteristics, work contexts, training needs and interests, training access and logistics, and knowledge of R6SCPHTC online resources.
Evaluation:
Key findings included that two-thirds of the pre-pandemic Oklahoma public health workforce consisted of employees age 40 or older with few holding public health or medical degrees. The majority of respondents worked for health departments and Tribes, and almost half were frontline workers. Although at least half of the participants interested in training on public health activities and topics were familiar with them, confidence in their abilities related to these activities and topics was expressed by less than half. Qualitative data provided details on training needs addressed quantitatively and described new training areas. Survey participants expressed interest in diverse training delivery methods and technological devices. Most respondents were not familiar with the free trainings available through the R6SCPHTC.
Discussion:
Similar to the regional and national public health workforce, Oklahoma's workforce needed training and support already before COVID-19. Time and resources need to be invested into the current and future workforce. While addressing priority public health skills and topics remains important, training on current and emerging topics is needed. Providing accessible trainings with expanded content will prepare Oklahoma's public health workforce for the future.
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