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.

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