Identifying training priorities through self-assessment by Alyssa K. Landen
The importance of investing in the public health workforce
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The importance of investing in the public health workforceWorkforce development mostly focuses on investing in the current public health workforce, but it is also important to discuss how future public health professionals are trained and prepared for their future careers. Today schools of public health have the ability to become accredited, by the Council on Education for Public Health. Students at accredited schools of public health receive an education that meets a certain number of established standards. Students who have attended an accredited school have the opportunity to become certified in public health. Since the first exam in 2008, students can become certified to demonstrate they are competent and have mastered the public health skills necessary to improve the health and well-being of the community in which they serve (National Board of Public Health Examiners , 2014). However, until the establishment of the certification, standards were not available to assess the competencies of the public health workforce, including those who have masters in public health. Investing in the workforce, through training and professional development, must become accepted by all public health professionals, and must be incorporated into budgets and strategic directions of not only health departments, but all public health agencies. The public health workforce “is the backbone of the public health infrastructure, critical to the success of public health programs, and requires immediate intervention to improve capacity to deliver essential public health services” (Beck et al, 2012). It is essential that trainings are evaluated to determine if the trainings provided are sufficiently improving the knowledge and skills of the public health workforce (Freedman et al., 2014). methodsThe Allegheny County Health Department set out to develop a self-assessment for employees of the health department. This process consisted of 5 steps: (1) development of survey, (2) determination of methods of analysis, (3) administration of survey, (4) analysis of survey responses, and (5) determination of health department priorities. development of surveyThe Allegheny County Health Department sought guidance from the Public Health Foundation (PHF) in the determination of survey questions. The PHF is “a private, non-profit, 501(c)3 organization based in Washington, DC, improves the public’s health by strengthening the quality and performance of public health practice” (Public Health Foundation, 2014a). The PHF has worked with community partners to develop tools for workforce development and training needs of local and state health departments. The PHF has recommended assessing the workforce at three tier levels (Public Health Foundation, 2014d): “Tier 1 – Front Line Staff/Entry Level. Tier 1 competencies apply to public health professionals who carry out the day-to-day tasks of public health organizations and are not in management positions. Responsibilities of these professionals may include data collection and analysis, fieldwork, program planning, outreach, communications, customer service, and program support.
Tier 2 – Program Management/Supervisory Level. Tier 2 competencies apply to public health professionals in program management or supervisory roles. Responsibilities of these professionals may include developing, implementing, and evaluating programs; supervising staff; establishing and maintaining community partnerships; managing timelines and work plans; making policy recommendations; and providing technical expertise. Tier 3 – Senior Management/Executive Level. Tier 3 competencies apply to public health professionals at a senior management level and to leaders of public health organizations. These professionals typically have staff who report to them and may be responsible for overseeing major programs or operations of the organization, setting a strategy and vision for the organization, creating a culture of quality within the organization, and working with the community to improve health.” In collaboration with University of North Carolina and their already existing set of competencies, the PHF developed a 74-question survey that assesses competencies of health department staff (Public Health Foundation, 2012). The survey assesses eight domains and approximately 68 competencies. According to the PHF, the core competencies “represent a set of skills desirable for the broad practice of public health that professionals may want to possess as they work to protect and improve the nation's health” (Public Health Foundation, 2014b). The eight domains addressed in the survey are (Public Health Foundation, 2014c):
Questions from the PHF were adapted to better meet the needs of the health department, a practice that is encouraged by the PHF. Questions were simplified and combined to shorten the survey and to make the survey more relevant to the job duties of health department employees. The final survey addressed all eight competencies and consisted of 36 questions (32 of which addressed the sub-competencies). The questions can be reviewed in Appendix B. This essay addresses the Tier 1 assessment only. Tier 1 assessment is inclusive of all employees in the health department. After completion of training determination for Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 questions will be developed. The Allegheny County Health Department used the 2012 version of the core competencies questions. An updated version was published in 2014 after the start of the project. Download 189.55 Kb. Share with your friends:
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