Browsing by Subject "Training needs"

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    Examining Training Motivations Among Public Health Workers
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2019-03) Apathy, Nate C.; Yeager, Valerie A.; Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health
    CONTEXT: As public health needs and priorities evolve, maintaining a trained public health workforce is critical to the success of public health efforts. Researchers have examined training needs in various contexts and subpopulations, but a nationally representative study of what motivates public health workers to seek out training has yet to be conducted. By understanding these motivations, public health agencies and policy makers can appeal to worker motivations in both training programs and organizational incentives. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this article was to describe overall training motivations and identify patterns of training motivations among public health workers. This study also explored whether or not training needs differ across prevalent motivational patterns. DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Using data from the 2017 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), the study used latent class analysis (LCA) to identify motivational patterns and logistic regression to analyze associations with training needs. RESULTS: The most prominent motivation to seek training was personal growth (82.7% of respondents). LCA identified 4 motivational classes of public health workers: those motivated by organizational pressure and requirements (31.8%), those motivated indiscriminately by all factors (28.4%), those motivated primarily by personal growth (21.7%), and those motivated by organizational accommodations and supports (18.2%). Motivational class was not associated with indicating training needs in any of 8 training domains, nor was it associated with indicating any training need in any domain. CONCLUSIONS: Public health agencies should consider the different motivational classes present in the public health workforce. In particular, motivational classes that represent organizational choices suggest that public health agencies should both motivate workers with organizational requirements and pressure from managers and offer institutional support via paid travel and covered time for training.
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    Perceptions of Public Health 3.0: Concordance Between Public Health Agency Leaders and Employees
    (Wolters Kluwer, 2019-03) Balio, Casey P.; Yeager, Valerie A.; Beitsch, Leslie M.; Health Policy and Management, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND: The newest era of public health, deemed "Public Health 3.0," supports cross-sector collaborations to address social determinants of health. These activities often require collaborations with nontraditional public health entities. As this new era begins, it is important to understand perceptions of the public health workforce with regard to Public Health 3.0. OBJECTIVE: To assess perceptions of support toward Public Health 3.0 activities by the public health workforce, identify characteristics associated with support, and measure concordance in support between agency directors and the general workforce. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study utilizes the 2017 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey to understand support and concordance regarding Public Health 3.0 activities by a nationally representative sample of governmental public health employees. Logistic regression models are used to identify characteristics associated with support of each 3.0 activity and concordance. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Governmental public health employees' opinions on how involved their agency should be in the K-12 education system, the economy, the built environment, transportation, housing, social connectedness, and health equity within their jurisdiction and concordance in support of involvement between agency directors and the general workforce. RESULTS: Overall, individual perceptions supporting involvement were highest for health equity and social connectedness and lowest for transportation. Supervisory status, education, and being at a local health department were associated with greater odds of supporting all 3.0 activities. Concordance with agency directors was greatest among other executives relative to nonsupervisors. CONCLUSIONS: There is overall generally high support of many 3.0 activities, but there are gaps in agreement by supervisory status, gender, race/ethnicity, education, role type, and jurisdiction. Findings may help support agency leaders in better communicating the role of their agencies in Public Health 3.0 activities, and workforce education regarding such activities may be necessary for the success of Public Health 3.0's success.