The session will report on the results of a HRSA funded enumeration of the public health workforce. This secondary analysis of public health workforce data was conducted using existing reports, surveys and summaries from 50 states and 6 territories and the District of Columbia; from 26 federal agencies, including the military; and from selected national voluntary agencies. A multi-tiered scheme for organizing the wide variety of data retrieved was devised by adapting occupational classification systems in use by the US Office of Personnel Management, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and the Bureau of Health Professions, HRSA. Decision rules were developed to guide mapping over 7,500 public health titles into this classification scheme, allowing public health workers to be summed by 55 occupational titles, 8 occupational categories, and by federal, state, local or other work settings. The results reveal a public health workforce of 445,254 persons in salaried positions, with 3.6% in administrative positions, 44.6% in professional positions, 13.9% in technical positions and 12.9% in clerical/support positions. 25% of workers could not be identified by occupational category. There are no common national conventions regarding enumeration of this workforce and the reported data differ greatly across jurisdictional lines. Without regular reporting or a standardized system for the collection of public health workforce data analysis of trends is not possible. The methods of data classification developed for this study provide a starting point for ongoing efforts within the PH community to develop a regularly updated workforce database. See cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/nursing/chphsr/index.html
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session the participant will be able to: 1. Discuss the number of public health workers in the United States public health workforce in federal, state and local settings 2. Describe the main sources of public health workforce information at the federal, state and local level. 3. Describe at least 2 limitations that must be recognized when interpreting numbers of public health workers 5. Describe collaborative efforts currently underway toward instituting regular data collection to establish a public health workforce database.
Keywords: Workforce, Information Databases
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: 1. Columbia University School of Nursing
2. Health Resources and Services Administration, USDHHS
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Dr. Gebbie is the Eliz. Standish Gill Associate Professor of Nursing & Director, Center for Health Policy, Columbia University School of Nursing
This project was funded by HRSA/ATPM Cooperative Agreement # U76AH00001-03