The public health workforce can be difficult to accurately count for a variety of reasons, including that state and local health departments are often organized differently. To address this gap, researchers at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health developed the first comprehensive analysis of state and local public health workers in the U.S. since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The research, published in the American Journal of Public Health, incorporated data from multiple sources including the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey and the State Associations of County and City Health Officials.