Public Health Prevention Service

History of the Public Health Prevention Service

In 1997, CDC established the Public Health Prevention Service (PHPS), a three-year training and service program for masters-level graduates with at least one year of paid public health experience. The program was designed to provide hands-on experience and mentorship in public health program planning, implementation, and evaluation and to improve national public health by developing a competent and sustainable public health workforce. PHPS fellows completed two six-month rotations at CDC, followed by a two-year assignment at a public health agency (e.g., state or local health department, academic institution, community-based organization, nongovernmental organization, or public health association).

During their six-month CDC rotations, fellows completed diverse assignments designed to provide them with an inside view of how CDC works as a federal government agency and as a leader in the wider framework of the public health system. PHPS field assignments supported and supplemented state and local health leaders and their staff in addressing public health challenges specific to their jurisdictions, and the communities within them, while extending the reach of CDC programs and initiatives to the front lines of public health.

Contributions and Accomplishments

PHPS fellows have made numerous contributions to public health at international, national, state, and local levels. A few of the many examples are highlighted below.

Fellows at CDC headquarters:

• Developed federal interagency case management guidelines for the Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention
• Led policy and legislative activities related to nutrition, physical activity, and obesity in the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity
• Documented and presented human subjects research for the Division of Reproductive Health and evaluated activities for the division’s partnership with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Collaborating Center in Reproductive Health

Fellows in field assignments:

• Coordinated a multi-hospital, statewide, Clostridium difficile collaborative in Illinois; C. difficile infections later declined by 36%, exceeding the 20% target goal
• Secured $749,000 dollars in funding from the US Department of Justice for the Fulton County (Georgia) Second Chance Offender Reentry Program, which sought to improve behavioral and mental health outcomes of men and women returning to communities from jails and prisons
• Developed and implemented a Male Health Initiative in Alameda County, California, which later led to increased healthcare access and advanced a continuum of care for underserved men and boys and reduced premature mortality rates
• Conducted a national Indian Health Service/Tribal Provider survey on colorectal cancer screening knowledge, attitudes, and practices, and wrote a monograph on cancer mortality among American Indians/Alaska Natives

Fellows supporting international assignments:

• Facilitated workshops to increase polio immunization services in Papua New Guinea as part of CDC’s Stop Transmission of Polio Program
• Collaborated in three French-speaking provinces with the WHO and Cameroon’s Ministry of Health on their Expanded Program on Immunization to reinforce active surveillance for acute flaccid paralysis, measles, yellow fever, and neonatal tetanus
• Contributed to multiple activities of the Global Aids Program (GAP), President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief:
  • Conducted data triangulation using multiple data sources for answering key public health questions relevant to HIV/AIDS policy development, evaluation, and program improvement in Tanzania, Africa
  • Assisted with the development, maintenance, and use of surveillance training materials for CDC-GAP countries

Fellows on Epi-aids and emergency response assignments:

• Assisted with reconstruction efforts after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and mapped resources for displaced Haitians
• Participated in pandemic influenza preparedness exercises
• Provided emergency response to Hurricanes Floyd and Katrina, SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), and the 9/11 and anthrax attacks in 2001
• Planned a WHO/CDC H1N1 influenza consultation on mass gatherings in Saudi Arabia

PHPS Graduates

Many PHPS graduates have continued their careers in public health. The table below gives examples of leadership roles assumed by graduates of the PHPS program over time.  

Public Health Prevention Service Alumni Association

In 2000, the Public Health Prevention Service Alumni Association was created to provide support for PHPS alumni through ongoing professional development. An important goal in founding the alumni association was to establish and maintain a national network of public health professionals, so the website hosts an alumni directory, newsletter, job links, and other items of interest to PHPS alumni.