Strengthening Academic Public Health Programs and Workforce Development Through Fieldwork: Insights From a Novel...

Area of Science:

• Public Health Training
• Higher Education Partnerships
• Workforce Development

Background:

• Collaboration between two public universities in New Mexico to enhance applied public health training.
• Addresses challenges of limited resources and diverse geographic considerations.

Purpose of the Study:

• Share lessons learned from a partnership between the University of New Mexico (UNM) and New Mexico State University (NMSU).
• Identify institutional, administrative, and programmatic support for effective public health training.
• Focus on strengthening the public health workforce pipeline, particularly for underrepresented students.

Main Methods:

• Partnership initiated in 2022 between UNM's College of Population Health and NMSU's Department of Public Health Sciences.
• Focus on resource exchange for fieldwork site relationships, student engagement, and programmatic quality.
• Analysis of institutional support mechanisms.

Main Results:

• Developed strategies for extending fieldwork site and supervisor relationships.
• Enhanced methods for engaging and supporting students in fieldwork planning and execution.
• Identified key institutional resources for maintaining and growing program quality.

Conclusions:

• The partnership provides valuable insights into supporting applied public health training with limited resources.
• Effective collaboration can reinforce the public health workforce pipeline.
• Ensuring participation and success of underrepresented students is a critical implication.