Levers of Change: How to Help Build the Public Health Workforce of the Future

Abstract

Context: Public health leaders are working to rebuild the US public health workforce. Master of Public Health (MPH) programs have a stake in this, given their role in educating and training public health practitioners. Over the last 10 years, MPH programs have implemented changes to program structure, content, and approach, but workforce gaps persist.

Objective: This study sought to explore the factors that inform and influence MPH program design and changes they make in order to elucidate how MPH programs may be further engaged to help address current and future public health workforce needs.

Design: Sequential mixed-methods study.

Setting: US MPH programs accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH), and applicants approved to seek accreditation.

Participants: In total, 115 representatives representing at least 43% of the 215 accredited/applicant MPH programs in the United States.

Main outcome measures: Factors that inform and influence programmatic and curricular changes within MPH programs.

Results: The shifts that MPH programs have made to program focus and the approaches used to support student competence development are influenced by individual, programmatic, institutional, and national factors, including faculty and staff background, access to resources, program team/faculty culture, access to resources, program placement, university priorities, and national policies. Most influential in catalyzing changes made by MPH programs between 2015 and 2020 were CEPH MPH accreditation standards, feedback from interested parties, learning best practices, university initiatives, and access to resources including funding and faculty. Identified factors served as facilitators and/or as barriers, depending on the context.

Conclusions: There are multiple levers at different levels that may be utilized by national public health leaders, university administrators, and program constituents to effect change within MPH programs, helping them to be even better positioned to help address public health workforce needs of today and tomorrow.