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The Public Health Workforce Calculator in a Post-COVID Era
Abby Vogel1, Krishna Patel, Timothy C McCall
1Author Affiliations: Center for Public Health Systems, Division of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota School of Public Health, Minneapolis, MN (Ms Vogel, Dr Orr, Dr Leider); National Association of County and City Health Officials, Washington, DC (Dr Patel, Dr McCall); and Department of Clinical Research and Leadership, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, DC (Dr McCall).
The Public Health Workforce Calculator underestimates current staffing needs. Post-COVID data is required to update the tool for accurate Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) estimation.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
- Workforce Development
Background:
- The Public Health Workforce Calculator was developed pre-pandemic to estimate staffing for Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS).
- The tool's algorithm relies on pre-COVID data, potentially limiting its accuracy in the current context.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the reliability of the Public Health Workforce Calculator in estimating staffing needs during the peri-COVID era.
- To assess if the calculator's pre-pandemic data accurately reflects current public health workforce requirements.
Main Methods:
- Local health departments' estimated full implementation staffing needs for FPHS were compared to the Workforce Calculator's output.
- Data from 108 responding agencies were analyzed using graphical methods and Lin's concordance correlation coefficient.
- The study assessed concordance between reported staffing needs and the calculator's estimates.
Main Results:
- The Workforce Calculator systematically underestimated staffing needs across most FPHS categories.
- Agencies reported higher staffing requirements than those estimated by the pre-pandemic based calculator.
- A significant discrepancy exists between the calculator's estimates and actual peri-COVID staffing needs.
Conclusions:
- Current public health staffing needs are more substantial than indicated by pre-COVID data.
- The Public Health Workforce Calculator requires an update with post-COVID data to improve accuracy.
- Updating the calculator will enhance its utility for public health agencies.
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