Job Task Analysis in Public Health: What are the Essential Tasks of Public Health Professionals?

The National Board of Public Health Examiners (NBPHE) completed a Job Task Analysis for public health professionals in 2014 to determine critical tasks which are performed by those working in public health.   The NBPHE developed the survey instrument with the assistance of Applied Measurement Professionals (AMP) and a panel of 18 individuals representing employers in various sectors of public health, including government, private sector, academia and non-profits.   The survey included 200 tasks in 10 content domains and 15 demographic characteristics.   The survey was disseminated to partner organizations as well as directly to individuals working in public health.  Over 7,400 individuals responded to the survey with over 4,800 completing the majority of survey questions. 

Forty-eight% of the respondents had MPH degrees, 34% were employed in government, 26% in academia, 14% in non-profit, 11% in clinical or hospital and 7% in business or corporate settings. The NBPHE has analyzed the results which includes a comparison of profiles of those working in different sectors of public health and an in-depth look at the tasks each of these groups indicated to be most critical to their jobs.  The NBPHE also examined the correlation between the domain areas of the Certified in Public Health credential (CPH) and the task list.

 The analysis will inform the work of the CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health in rethinking the future of education in public health as well as organizations representing the public health workforce.