Confronting the Public Health Workforce Crisis

The U.S. faces a future public health workforce crisis. The current public health workforce is inadequate to meet the health needs of the U.S. and global population.

KEY FACTS:

ASPH estimates that 250,000 more public health workers will be needed by 2020.

The public health workforce is diminishing over time (there were 50,000 fewer public health workers in 2000 than in 1980), forcing public health workers to do more for more people with fewer resources.

This challenge is compounded by the fact that 23% of the current workforce – almost 110,000 workers – are eligible to retire by 2012.

There are documented and forecasted shortages of public health physicians, public health nurses, epidemiologists, health care educators, and administrators. Without enough public health workers protecting us where we live, work and play, we all are vulnerable to serious health risks.

To replenish the workforce and avert the crisis, schools of public health will have to train three times the current number of graduates over the next 12 years.

Learn more...

Looking After Our Elders

[Crossposting with TLH]
A recent documentary on BBC Asian Network discusses the growing population of South Asians entering old age and the impact that is being felt on the middle generations who look after them. The documentary discusses the responsibilities second-generation Asians have to look after their elderly family members while balancing a career at the same time. The documentary illustrates the difficulties and sacrifices people make when looking after their parents/grandparents and the subsequent loss of dignity the elderly experience when suffering with illnesses and a loss of independence. I’m glad the documentary brought attention to an important issue that we have not readily addressed in our community.

Having had recent personal experience with this issue, it is something I have thought about extensively. In our community, it is natural for children and grandchildren to take care of their parents or grandparents. It is an integral part of our culture and in fact, I think it creates a special bond between generations who are often pulled apart by language and culture. The documentary talks about the duty to look after our elders and the guilt individuals feel when they are faced with the decision to put their parents/grandparents in a nursing home. Read more...