Attracting New Talent to the Governmental Public Health Workforce: Strategies for Improved Recruitment of Public Health Graduates.

CONTEXT: Governmental public health (GPH) agencies need a diverse, skilled, and motivated workforce to advance health and well-being, but they face a number of recruitment challenges. While there has been massive growth in public health degree programs and graduates, those with a degree in public health are underrepresented in the GPH workforce. OBJECTIVES: This study evaluates potential reasons undergraduate and graduate public health degree holders are underrepresented in the GPH workforce, assesses student awareness of and interest in GPH jobs, and identifies strategies for improved recruitment. DESIGN: We conducted pilot focus groups to explore public health students' interest in working for GPH agencies, obstacles to employment, and how this career path could be better promoted. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Eight focus groups were conducted with a total of 33 participants at 3 universities and at the Annual Meeting of the American Public Health Association. Participants were enrolled full-time in or graduated within the last year from a public health bachelor's degree program or a public health master's degree program. Undergraduates had declared a public health major and were in their senior year; graduate students were in their second year and actively job seeking; or participants graduated within the past 12 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The focus groups sought to capture students' perspectives of GPH agencies and how they believe recruitment can be improved. RESULTS: Participants described attractive job attributes including fulfilling, meaningful work; a position at a mission-driven organization; and the opportunity to make an impact on their community. Governmental public health agencies were viewed as bureaucratic, lacking innovation, and underresourced. Participants reported difficulties accessing and finding relevant job postings. CONCLUSIONS: Key to effectively recruiting and retaining new graduates is understanding their perceptions about/experiences with GPH agencies. While GPH jobs have desired attributes, participants reported that health departments are not effectively recruiting them.

Determinants of workplace perceptions among federal, state, and local public health staff in the US, 2014 to 2017.

BACKGROUND: The governmental public health workforce in the United States comprises almost 300,000 staff at federal, state, and local levels. The workforce is poised for generational change, experiencing significant levels of retirement. However, intent to leave for other reasons is also substantial, and diversity is lacking in the workforce. METHODS: Workforce perception data from 76,000 staff from Health and Human Services (HHS) including 14,000 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were analyzed across 2014 and 2017. Additionally, data from 32,000 state and local health department staff in 46 agencies reporting in both years. Estimates were constructed accounting for survey design and non-response. RESULTS: In 2017, women made up 43% of the total US government workforce and 33% of supervisors or higher, compared to 73 and 68% generally in State Health Agencies (p < .0001); and 62% vs 52% in HHS (p < .0001). Among state staff, intent to leave increased from 22 to 31% (p < .0001), but fell in 2017 from 33 to 28% for HHS (p < .0001). Correlates of intent to leave included low job satisfaction, pay satisfaction, and agency type. Federal entities saw the highest proportion respondents that indicated they would recommend their organization as a good place to work. CONCLUSIONS: While intent to leave fell at federal agencies from 2014 to 2017, it increased among staff in state and local health departments. Additionally, while public health is more diverse than the US government overall, significant underrepresentation is observed in supervisory positions for staff of color, especially women.

Factors Associated with Suicidal Ideation and Quality of Life in Adolescents from Puerto Rico with Type 1 Diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: People with type 1 diabetes (T1D) may experience significant changes in their daily routines due to this condition, which frequently results in depressive symptoms and the deterioration of their quality of life. We examined the factors associated with suicidal ideation (SI) and diabetes-related quality of life (DRQOL) in adolescents (aged 12 to 17) with T1D. METHODS: The sample consisted of 51 youths (29 girls) recruited during a treatment study for depression. They completed the Diabetes Quality of Life for Youth questionnaire, the Suicidal Ideation Questionnaire Junior, and other measures that explore emotional, cognitive, somatic, behavioral, and relational aspects. Their caregivers completed the Barriers to Adherence Questionnaire and the Somatic Complaints subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist, among other measures. We used correlation and multiple linear regression analyses to identify the factors associated with the dependent variables. RESULTS: The variables associated with SI were depression, somatic complaints, perceived family emotional support, self care for diabetes, self-deprecation, helplessness, and hopelessness, among others. In a multiple regression analysis, the first 3 accounted for 46% of the variance. Those related to DRQOL included cognitive alterations, barriers to adherence, perceived family emotional support, self-efficacy for diabetes and for depression, helplessness, anxiety, and self-deprecation, among others. The first 4 accounted for 61% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Our findings highlight the impact of emotional, cognitive, somatic, behavioral, and relational aspects on the quality of mental health and the DRQOL of youth with T1D, as well as their pertinence for the development of psychosocial interventions for this population.