Improving the Health of Governance: Identifying and Addressing Burnout Among Public Health Association Board Members

The COVID-19 pandemic caused stress and burnout for governmental public health workers, negatively affecting workers' desire to remain in their professional role. In October 2022, a board for a national association assessed their professional development needs, identified manifestations of burnout, and generated strategies to address burnout. Of 21 board members invited, 16 (76%) responded. Quantitative items were summarized using descriptive analysis. Open-ended responses were summarized with thematic analysis. Board members identified balance between private and professional lives to optimize well-being as a competency growth area. They selected group discussion (56%) as their top learning method. Burnout manifested as frustration, fatigue, disengagement, poor decision making, feeling overwhelmed, and illness. Six categories described strategies to address burnout: positive self-talk, protecting time, modeling, creativity/fun, "get-out-there," and resources/support. To address burnout and support public health workers, associations can prioritize the development and well-being of board members who might not otherwise prioritize their development.