title: Public health workforce trends since 1980: myth or reality?
abstract: Increasingly, the national spotlight has been on the needs of the public health workforce fueled, in part, by assertions that the number of public health workers has declined since 1980. A closer examination suggests that there is little evidence to support the claim of a shrinking workforce and that the number of public health workers has actually been increasing at a rate greater than that of the general population. These findings suggest that the evidence base for public health workforce preparedness efforts must be strengthened.
authors.affiliation: Division of Community Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL 60612, USA.
authors.forename: Bernard J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Turnock
mesh_terms: D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D017149:Private Sector / Q000639:trends; D011634:Public Health; D017150:Public Sector / Q000639:trends; D000078329:Workforce