Additional Resources

The following resources can assist in hiring, retaining, sustaining, and training the public health workforce:

Recruit, hire, and retain public health staff

• Sample Job Descriptions for Public Health Evaluators [PDF – 766KB]
  This resource provides sample job descriptions for various roles related to evaluation in public health from non-profit organizations, government agencies, and academia. These job descriptions can be used and adapted to hire evaluators for public health projects and initiatives. (2/3/23)
• Recruitment Toolkit
  This compilation of resources is for health departments that are seeking to recruit new candidates. It outlines six key steps to follow and includes research and data to help users through the recruitment process. (12/14/22)
• Public Health Model Job Descriptions Project
  This resource provides easily adaptable evidence-based job descriptions and attractive job postings for up to 24 common health department jobs. (12/14/22)
• Public Health Careers.org
  This ASTHO project provides a free searchable database of public health jobs across the country. This can be used as a recruitment tool to ensure job postings are reaching the target audience. (12/14/22)
• 4 Reasons to Stick with Stay Interviews Explains what “stay” interviews are and how they are powerful tools for identifying workforce issues and opportunities and for creating a conducive work environment that supports employees to be engaged and productive.
• Generation Public Health: Top 8 Tips for Government Health Departments to Hire New Grads
  A seasoned university career services professional’s tips on what health departments can do right now to hire new grads.
• Public Health Foundation
  PHF maintains various links to resources and other organizations, emphasizing workforce as a focus.
• National Consortium for Public Health Workforce development
  This group works collaboratively to ensure the public health workforce has the skills, resources, and support it needs to address the social determinants of health and achieve health equity.
• Staffing Up: Determining Public Health Workforce Levels Needed to Serve the Nation
  Describes a research-based estimation of the number of public health workers needed in state and local health departments.
• Succession Planning and Workforce Development for Public Health Agencies
  Training course developed by the Region 2 Public Health Training Center helps prepare public health leaders and the public health workforce to develop the practices and competencies associated with being a Chief Health Strategist.
• The NCWWI Workforce Development Framework (ncwwi.org) [PDF – 570KB]
  The National Child Welfare Workforce Institute’s (NCWWI) Workforce Development Framework (WDF) can guide agency leaders in the improvement of the health of the child welfare workforce. The WDF explains the key elements of an effective workforce and provides evidence-informed strategies to develop each one.
• Example workforce development plans from state and local health departments. Here is one from Maryland [PDF – 2.7MB] (2017-2019), from Philadelphia [PDF – 1.2MB] (2014-15), and from San Bernadino County, CA [PDF – 814KB] (2016).   A guide for developing a workforce development plan [PDF – 2.4MB] developed by ASTHO is available on this Connecticut state government website.

Sustain and support public health staff

• CDC Workplace Health Assessment
  Information on workplace health assessments, how to conduct workplace health assessments and provides relevant tools and resources.
• CDC Workplace Health Resource Center
  Searchable database of research-based tools and resources to help employers develop or expand a workplace health promotion program that supports their employees’ physical, mental, emotional, and financial well-being.
• CDC Worksite Health Score Card
  Tool designed to help employers assess whether they have implemented evidence-based health promotion interventions or strategies in their worksites to improve the health and well-being of their employees. This includes links to a detailed manual to support implementation.
• Healthcare Workers: Work Stress & Mental Health | NIOSH | CDC
  Information about the NIOSH Health Worker Mental Health Initiative, as well as training and resources by topic related to health workers and mental health.
• Planning, Assessment, and Evaluation Tools | TWH | NIOSH | CDC
  Resources to help organizations create and sustain a workplace culture aligned with Total Worker Health® approaches.
• Total Worker Health | NIOSH | CDC
  Total Worker Health® is defined as policies, programs, and practices that integrate protection from work-related safety and health hazards with promotion of injury and illness-prevention efforts to advance worker well-being. The Total Worker Health (TWH) approach seeks to improve the well-being of the U.S. workforce by protecting their safety and enhancing their health and productivity. Using TWH strategies benefits workers, employers, and the community.
• Urban Health Agenda – Big Cities Health Coalition
  This resource highlights the partnerships between government agencies and community-based organizations that work together to promote health and safety to transform urban health and address health equity.
• Work@Health Employer-Training Program
  An initiative of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to promote workplace well-being. The program provides employer education, training, and technical assistance.
• Worker Well-Being Questionnaire (WellBQ) | NIOSH | CDC
  An integrated assessment of worker well-being across multiple spheres, including individuals’ quality of working life, circumstances outside of work, and physical and mental health status. Intended to help understand the well-being of workers and target interventions to improve worker well-being, among other applications.

Train new and existing public health staff

• Introduction to Public Health Practice Training Plan
  This flexible training plan is designed for people who are new to the field of public health. (9/12/2022)
• CDC Learning Connection
  CDC Learning Connection helps public health and healthcare professionals stay informed about quality trainings from CDC, other federal agencies, and federally funded partners. Visit the website to see featured trainings and sign up for the monthly email.
• CDC TRAIN
  CDC TRAIN is a gateway into the TRAIN Learning Network, the most comprehensive catalog of public health training opportunities. Search courses for free and create a free account to take them.
• CDC Training Development
  This site provides credible resources to help you design and develop quality training to improve public health and connect with others who are doing similar work. This page includes access to information on the ADDIE model and CDC Quality Training Standards
• CDC Quality Training Standards
  Ensure your training is high-quality by using the Quality Training Developer Checklist during training development. The standards are broad enough to encompass any type of training topic or format.
• Competencies for Public Health Informaticians
  These competencies are for professionals working in the field of public health informatics and are organized into two tiers.
• Competency-Based Workforce Development Plans
  Samples of workforce development plans based on the Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals (Core Competencies) are provided below to assist organizations in incorporating the Core Competencies into their own workforce development plans.
• National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (2013) [PDF – 251KB]
  Certified workforce development professional (CWDP) competencies.
• New to Public Health Residency Program
  This 12-month online professional development program supports governmental public health professionals within their first year of practice. The program offers learning modules based on the Foundational Public Health Services in addition to facilitated learning experiences with a community of peers across the nation.
• Public Health Core Competencies
  New from 2021, the Core Competencies describe cross-cutting or foundational knowledge and skills for all public health professionals. This consensus set of competencies developed by the Council on Linkages was recently revised to ensure these competencies keep pace with the changing realities of public health and continue to meet the needs of public health professionals and organizations.
• Training and Continuing Education Online (TCEO)
  Training and Continuing Education Online (TCEO) is a system that provides access to CDC educational activities for continuing education (CE). Use TCEO to search for CE opportunities, complete course evaluations and posttests, receive your CE certificates, and manage your CE transcript.

The following resources can assist with improving organizational systems and processes to ensure a strong core infrastructure:

• Revising the Foundational Public Health Services in 2022
  The FPHS framework outlines the unique responsibilities of governmental public health and can be used to explain the vital role of governmental public health in a thriving community; identify capacity and resource gaps; determine the cost for assuring foundational activities; and justify funding needs. (10/14/22)
• Public Health COVID-19 Impact Assessment: Lessons Learned and Compelling Needs [PDF – 1.1MB]
  This discussion paper is part of the National Academy of Medicine’s Emerging Stronger After COVID-19: Priorities for Health System Transformation initiative, which commissioned papers from experts on how 9 key sectors of the health, health care, and biomedical science fields responded to and can be transformed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. (10/14/22)
• PHAB Stategic Plan 2022-2025 [PDF – 392KB]
  The Public Health Accreditation Board’s strategic plan identifies and examines five main strategic priorities for the next three years. Including detailed objectives for each priority, this resource helps to map the landscape of public health for the years to come. (9/20/22)
• Meeting America’s Public Health Challenge: Recommendations for Building a National Public Health System That Addresses Ongoing and Future Health Crises, Advances Equity, and Earns Trust [PDF – 1.6MB]
  Report from The Commonwealth Fund Commission on a National Public Health System. (7/26/2022)
• 21st Century Learning Community (21C)
  A group of states focused on intentional state-wide public health transformation. Members engage in peer networking, learning, communication, have access to enterprise-wide technical assistance, and contribute to building the knowledgebase around public health transformation and modernization.
• Foundational Capabilities and Potential Use in Pathways Recognition Program Standards & Measures Version 2022 -DRAFT
  The Measures in this document are aligned with the Foundational Capabilities of the Foundational Public Health Services (FPHS) framework. That framework identifies seven capabilities to describe the infrastructure needed for all health departments to provide public health protection and to provide fair opportunities for all to be healthy. In Version 2022, you will see which Measures correspond to one of the seven capabilities. Measures for workforce are included in the document.
• Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB)
  PHAB works to promote and protect the health of the public by advancing the quality and performance of all public health departments in the United States through national public health department accreditation.
• Public Health Infrastructure – Healthy People 2030 | health.gov
  Healthy People 2030 focuses on creating a strong public health infrastructure. The Public Health Infrastructure objectives address high-performing health departments, workforce development and training, data and information systems, planning, and partnerships, with a goal of making sure public health agencies at all levels have the necessary infrastructure for key public health services.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems recommendations
  The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation established a first-of-its-kind National Commission to Transform Public Health Data Systems to reimagine how data are collected, shared, and used, and identify the investments needed to improve health equity.
• 2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments
  The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) conducts the National Profile of Local Health Departments every three years as a census of local health departments (LHDs).
• CSTE Epidemiology Capacity Assessment (ECA)
  CSTE has conducted seven periodic Epidemiology Capacity Assessments (ECAs) since 2001 to monitor the numerical strength and functional applied epidemiology capacity in state and territorial health departments. This report represents the most complete and comprehensive national data on epidemiology workforce needs.
• Lab Testing Capacity and Capability Data Dashboard
  APHL conducts a weekly survey of 99 state, local and territorial public health laboratories (PHLs) to collect the status of current and projected capability and capacity of laboratories to test for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).
• PLACES
  PLACES, a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation, allows local health departments and jurisdictions regardless of population size and urban-rural status to better understand the burden and geographic distribution of health-related outcomes in their areas and assist them in planning public health interventions.
• Profile of State and Territorial Public Health
  Comprehensive source of information on state and territorial public health agency activities, structures, and financial and workforce resources.
• Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey
  PH WINS (Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey) supports the governmental public health workforce in understanding their strengths and gaps and informs future investments in workforce development efforts nationally.

The following resources can assist with strengthening data modernization initiatives including interoperability and increase the availability and use of public health data.

• AMIA Health Informatics Essentials: Data Governance, Management, and Analytics | AMIA – American Medical Informatics Association
  An introduction to Health Informatics that helps participants demonstrate knowledge of concepts and skills needed to ensure data quality and analyze health data to support the processes and performance of health care and public health organizations.
• An Introduction to GitHub | TTS Handbook – GSA
  Resources to understand the value of GitHub and beginning skills
• Appendix IV – State and Local Public Health Readiness for Interoperability | Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) – HealthIT.gov
  This appendix points to PHA websites at the jurisdictional level where interested parties can obtain information such as the local implementation guides which programs and implementation guides are supported, contact information, etc.
• Cloud Adoption Playbook – GSA Sept 2020 [PDF – 508KB]
  Help agencies deliver modern digital services using cloud services
• Data and Analytics Center of Excellence Playbook – GSA Aug2020 [PDF – 2.1MB]
  Helps build mature data analytics organizations across government and describes how to leverage data as a strategic asset
• Data Modernization Initiative Planning Toolkit – PHII
  Supports STLTS in planning data modernization efforts at health departments as a guide to build leadership and partner buy-in for data modernization work and to assist health departments in developing plans that prioritize data modernization activities.
• Data Modernization Learning Community (circle.so)
  Online presence of the DMI Learning Community, funded by CDC and facilitated by PHII, a space for jurisdictions to engage with other jurisdictions around DMI implementation issues.
• Data Presentation/Visualizations for USG: About | Data Visualization Standards
  Data Visualization Standards are a collection of guidance and resources to help create better data visualizations with less effort.
• Data Sharing for Native Peoples and Organizations
  Practical guidance for Tribes on obtaining and sharing health data.
• Digital Bridge Public Health API White paper
  A resource to better understand the basic API concepts and opportunities for public health
• Federal Field Guide for De-risking Technology Projects: Introduction | De-risking government technology: Federal field guide | 18F
  A resource similar to the State Software Budgeting Handbook – applicable to STLT use cases
• How to Draft Successful Memorandums of Understanding and Data-sharing Agreements
  Practical Playbook on drafting successful MOUs and data-sharing agreements.
• Informatics offerings on CDC TRAIN
  CDC TRAIN provides access to more than 1,000 courses developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) programs, grantees, and other funded partners.  Recipients are encouraged to search for informatics trainings available through this training resource.
• Interoperability Standards Advisory Process – HealthIT.gov
  The Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) process represents the model by which the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) will coordinate the identification, assessment, and determination of “recognized” interoperability standards and implementation specifications for industry use to fulfill specific clinical health IT interoperability needs.
• Legal Considerations on Federal and State Privacy Laws: Public Health Informatics Institute [PDF – 364KB]
  Compendium of laws that pertain to retrieving school data and explains what type of data can and cannot be shared based on the way the law is written. Generalizable to other types of Public Health data.
• Public Health Data Interoperability (cdc.gov)
  Describes interoperability for eCR, ELR, IIS, and syndromic surveillance.
• State Software Budgeting Handbook: Introduction – De-risking custom technology projects (agilebudgeting.org)
  Guide for STLT executives, budget specialists, legislators and other decision-makers who fund or oversee STLT technology projects.
• Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TECFA) – The Sequoia Project: Benefits for State Governments and Public Health – ONC TEFCA RCA (sequoiaproject.org)
  Resource to help public health understand the value of common agreements and participating in national networks for exchanging data.