Among public health agencies, expanding remote work opportunities by many state health departments (SHDs) has increased the pool of candidates for state positions, including people working at local health departments (LHDs). SHDs often pay better than LHDs, especially when compared with salaries among rural LHDs. Rural LHDs particularly struggle to recruit public health–trained employees, and…
Public health workforce challenges have become increasingly important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and broader labor market disruptions. The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) provides critical national data on governmental public health employees, offering insight into workforce experiences, retention, and organizational needs. This article examines how trends identified in…
Research on the public health workforce has largely focused on governmental health departments, despite public health encompassing a much broader range of occupations and sectors. Adopting a more inclusive definition of the workforce would provide a fuller understanding of who contributes to public health, strengthen cross-sector collaboration, and improve data used for workforce planning and…
Midwifery-led care is associated with improved birth outcomes, fewer obstetric interventions, and reduced disparities in outcomes among underserved populations. Although efforts to expand the certified nurse-midwife (CNM) workforce have contributed to its growth, midwives still attend a relatively small share of US births, likely due in part to workforce barriers such as restrictive scope-of-practice laws…
Despite improvements in maternal and child health, significant inequities persist in the United States, including disparities in maternal and infant mortality, low birth weight, asthma, and developmental disabilities. A well-trained, supported, and diverse maternal and child health workforce is an important structural factor in addressing these inequities. Existing maternal and child health indices capture some…
Legal scope of practice for dental hygienists differs by state. Research suggests that broader scope of practice laws at the state level can improve oral health outcomes. This infographic, an update from when it was last updated in 2024, illustrates allowable tasks for dental hygienists by each state in the United States, to help planners…
Medicaid faces significant policy and funding changes that could affect access to primary care, raising questions about the stability of the clinician workforce serving Medicaid enrollees. However, fluctuations in Medicaid participation may reflect changes in patient enrollment rather than frequent decisions by clinicians to enter or leave the program. Understanding how primary care clinicians maintain…
Telepsychiatry has become a critical tool for expanding access to behavioral health care, with utilization increasing substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic alongside federal telehealth policy flexibilities. While some flexibilities have been made permanent, others are set to expire, and the effects on access to care remain unclear. Understanding the extent to which patients receive behavioral…
Substance use during pregnancy remains a major public health concern in the United States, contributing to adverse maternal and infant outcomes, including preterm birth, neonatal abstinence syndrome, and increased maternal mortality. Although universal screening during prenatal care is recommended to identify women with substance use disorders (SUDs) and connect them to treatment, screening and treatment…
High turnover rates in the public health workforce pose ongoing challenges to maintain essential services and institutional knowledge. Recent studies indicate that job dissatisfaction, burnout, and structural barriers have intensified following the COVID-19 pandemic. While prior studies have identified key predictors of turnover intention, the potential of machine learning to improve predictive accuracy and guide…
