Public Health Perspectives on the Cost and Value of Certification for Disease Intervention Professionals

Enhancing the disease intervention (DI) workforce through professional certification has been a national goal for several decades. The objectives of this qualitative study were to (1) understand facilitators and barriers to obtaining Certified in Disease Intervention (CDI) certification and (2) identify potential strategies to improve access to certification.

We used a grounded theory approach to accomplish these objectives and develop a conceptual framework of the major factors that influence DI specialist decisions to obtain professional certification. We conducted 9 virtual listening sessions in 2026 with 9 representatives from health departments across the United States. We used constant comparative analysis to collect data and perform data analysis.

We organized key themes into a conceptual framework to explain influences on certification at 3 levels: societal/systems, organizational, and individual. At the societal/systems level, the major influences were availability of government funding to support certification, the overall movement to professionalize the DI workforce, and current political priorities. Funding, workload, local population needs, and the organizational structure and staffing model influenced the ability of organizations to support certification. At the individual level, the main influences were ability to pay, perceived value and benefit of CDI certification, and time to study and take the certification examination.

CDI certification was viewed as a positive step toward enhancing the DI workforce by offering standardization, development of skills, and opportunities for career growth. The financial barrier of employees paying the full cost of CDI certification should be considered by employers and certification organizations. Cost subsidization and support are necessary to improve CDI certification uptake and sustain CDI recertification.