Characteristics of Governmental Public Health Nurses With Recommendations for Public Health Nurse Workforce Planning

Characteristics and perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health of governmental public health nurses were compared to all registered nurses.

Cross-sectional descriptive design using data from the 2022 Wisconsin RN Workforce Survey.

The sample included 87,100 registered nurses, including 1350 governmental public health nurses.

The online survey was administered during February 2022. Responses to "Working as a nurse" and "Primary place of work" were used to classify governmental public health nurses. Data elements included demographics, employment, income, education, specialized knowledge, certifications, and COVID-19 pandemic measures.

Compared to all registered nurses, governmental public health nurses reported older age, greater race/ethnic diversity, and higher frequency of the baccalaureate as the highest degree. Most governmental public health nurses reported no plans for additional education. Income for governmental public health nurses lagged income for all registered nurses. The proportion of governmental public health nurses intending to remain in their present type of work for fewer than 10 years was higher than for all registered nurses, as was the proportion of governmental public health nurses who rated their overall health as "worse or much worse" than before the pandemic.

This analysis raises concerns about the size and preparation of the governmental public health nurse workforce given ongoing population health disparities and future health threats.