Environmental public health services are in crisis — the many public health protections provided by these services are at risk.
workforce
- Aging and retiring work force — the average age of a public health worker is 46.6 years and retirement rates will be as high as 45% over the next five years — there is a shortage of young professionals.
- Poor compensation and retention — current vacancy and turnover rates of environmental public health practitioners are high in many states because of low pay, minimal advance opportunities and competition with the private sector.
- Lack of future leadership — no consistent plan or program exists to train the next generation of environmental public health leaders.
services
- There are 10 essential public health services for which funding is limited and training is needed. For more information, go to www.train.org.
- The increasing number and complexity of environmental public health issues as well as the emergence of new issues requires a well prepared environmental public health work force and a work force with strong communication skills.
- Environmental public health services are often unnoticed and underfunded. There is a need for increased support of these crucial services.
REFERENCES:
ASTHO. State Public Health Employee Worker Shortage Report: A Civil Service Recruitment and Retention Crisis. 2004.
CDC. A National Strategy to Revitalize Environmental Public Health Services. September 2003.
Fact:
In a recent survey by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, 11 of the 37 reporting states identified a shortage of environmental public health workers because of low pay, minimal advancement opportunities, and competition with the private sector.