​​​​​​Academic public health leaders, faculty, staff, students, and partners are convening virtually for the 2021 Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Annual Meeting on March 23-25, 2021 to advance leadership, excellence, and collaboration for academic public health now and beyond these challenging times.

The​ Public Health Foundation (PHF) will be joining the ASPPH Annual Meeting to share competency resources and tools. Join PHF for the following annual meeting presentation:

Presenters: Mayela Arana, MPH, CHES, CPH, Program Coordinator, Region 2 Public Health Training Center, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and Kathleen Amos, MLIS, Assistant Director, Academic/Practice Linkages, PHF 

A competent and well-trained workforce is an important component of the public health infrastructure and fundamental to the provision of the essential public health services. The Regional Public Health Training Center (PHTC) Program is committed to strengthening the competence of the current and future public health workforce to address complex and evolving health needs of the public. 

Numerous competency or skill sets are available to support the workforce education and training that is increasingly important as we face the challenges of an evolving public health environment, staff turnover, and a retiring workforce, much of which has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Core Competencies for Public Health Professionals, a consensus set of foundational knowledge and skills for the broad practice of public health developed by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice, have been widely used by health departments and academic institutions for nearly 20 years. In 2017, the de Beaumont Foundation’s National Consortium for Public Health Workforce Development identified 8 Strategic Skills for the Governmental Public Health Workforce. In 2019, the Public Health Foundation released a set of Competencies for Population Health Professionals, describing knowledge and skills for individuals engaged in population health programs, services, and practices. 

In 2020, an effort was undertaken to map these three workforce development resources together to make it easier for PHTCs, schools and programs of public health, and health departments to assess needs and develop competency-based education and training. Harmonizing these various competency and skill sets for the public health workforce will help to minimize confusion in the field and support alignment of the workforce development goals of state, tribal, local, and territorial health departments as well as prepare students of public health to fill essential roles in governmental public health agencies.

For more information about the 2021 ASPPH Annual Meeting and to register, visit the ASPPH website.