The local public health workforce in rural communities.
This work describes the public health workforce and training needs of rural local public health agencies (LPHAs) in comparison with suburban and metropolitan LPHA jurisdictions. A survey was sent to 1,100 LPHAs nationwide. The rural urban commuting area codes (RUCAs) defined LPHAs as rural or urban, and the Standard Occupational Classification system enumerated the workforce. Most occupational classifications had significantly fewer staff in rural LPHAs. Public health nurses ranked as the most needed staff and serve in various important capacities in rural LPHAs. In terms of training, job-specific or programmatic continuing education was identified as the most important training need. Developing leadership and public health workforce capacity within rural public health is an essential agenda item for rural America. Decision makers may need to consider different organizational structures while balancing the need for local input and control. Regionalization and collaborative approaches to difficult workforce issues may present potential solutions to workforce challenges.
Hajat
Anjum
A
Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, Maryland, USA.
Stewart
Karen
K
Hayes
Kathy L
KL
D004651:Employment; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D020380:Needs Assessment; D011365:Professional Practice Location; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education; D011635:Public Health Administration; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000193:education; D015980:Public Health Practice / Q000145:classification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019035:Rural Health Services; D014481:United States; D000078329:Workforce