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Federal Public Health Workforce Development: An Evidence-Based Approach for Defining Competencies.

ABSTRACT: This study reports the use of exploratory factor analysis to describe essential skills and knowledge for an important segment of the domestic public health workforce-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) project officers-using an evidence-based approach to competency development and validation.A multicomponent survey was conducted. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the underlying domains and relationships between competency domains and key behaviors. The Cronbach ? coefficient determined the reliability of the overall scale and identified factors.All domestic (US state, tribe, local, and territorial) grantees who received funding from the CDC during fiscal year 2011 to implement nonresearch prevention or intervention programs were invited to participate in a Web-based questionnaire.A total of 34 key behaviors representing knowledge, skills, and abilities, grouped in 7 domains-communication, grant administration and management, public health applied science and knowledge, program planning and development, program management, program monitoring and improvement, and organizational consultation-were examined.There were 795 responses (58% response rate). A total of 6 factors were identified with loadings of 0.40 or more for all 34 behavioral items. The Cronbach ? coefficient was 0.95 overall and ranged between 0.73 and 0.91 for the factors.This study provides empirical evidence for the construct validity of 6 competencies and 34 key behaviors important for CDC project officers and serves as an important first step to evidence-driven workforce development efforts in public health.

SUBMITTER: Mumford K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5614504 | biostudies-literature | 2016 May-Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Federal Public Health Workforce Development: An Evidence-Based Approach for Defining Competencies.

Mumford Karen K Young Andrea C AC Nawaz Saira S

Journal of public health management and practice : JPHMP 20160501 3

<h4>Objective</h4>This study reports the use of exploratory factor analysis to describe essential skills and knowledge for an important segment of the domestic public health workforce-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) project officers-using an evidence-based approach to competency development and validation.<h4>Design</h4>A multicomponent survey was conducted. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the underlying domains and relationships between competency domains and ke ...[more]

PMID: 25575378

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Project description:BackgroundAs part of efforts to implement the human resources capacity building component of the African Regional Strategy on Disaster Risk Management (DRM) for the health sector, the African Regional Office of the World Health Organization, in collaboration with selected African public health training institutions, followed a multistage process to develop core competencies and curricula for training the African health workforce in public health DRM. In this article, we describe the methods used to develop the competencies, present the identified competencies and training curricula, and propose recommendations for their integration into the public health education curricula of African member states.MethodsWe conducted a pilot research using mixed methods approaches to develop and test the applicability and feasibility of a public health disaster risk management curriculum for training the African health workforce.ResultsWe identified 14 core competencies and 45 sub-competencies/training units grouped into six thematic areas: 1) introduction to DRM; 2) operational effectiveness; 3) effective leadership; 4) preparedness and risk reduction; 5) emergency response and 6) post-disaster health system recovery. These were defined as the skills and knowledge that African health care workers should possess to effectively participate in health DRM activities. To suit the needs of various categories of African health care workers, three levels of training courses are proposed: basic, intermediate, and advanced. The pilot test of the basic course among a cohort of public health practitioners in South Africa demonstrated their relevance.ConclusionsThese competencies compare favourably to the findings of other studies that have assessed public health DRM competencies. They could provide a framework for scaling up the capacity development of African healthcare workers in the area of public health DRM; however further validation of the competencies is required through additional pilot courses and follow up of the trainees to demonstrate outcome and impact of the competencies and curriculum.

Project description:ContextAs the science and practice of syndromic surveillance (SyS) evolve, it has increasing utility for public health surveillance at the local level. Local health departments (LHDs) require specific organizational and workforce capabilities to use SyS data. In 2013, more than half of the LHDs reported using SyS, although little has been reported about LHD workforce capabilities in SyS.ObjectiveTo conduct an assessment of self-reported knowledge and skills in SyS tasks to effectively target technical assistance to different levels of LHD need.Design, setting, and participantsA stratified sampling design based on LHD jurisdiction population and SyS status was employed. Data were drawn from the 2015 Biosurveillance Needs Assessment Survey, which captured variables related to LHD use of SyS, management of systems, and self-reported proficiencies in a typology of SyS functionalities developed by a workgroup of subject matter experts in SyS. Respondents were US-based LHD public health practitioners. Estimation weights were applied during analysis to determine the national representation of the responses.Main outcome measuresRespondents self-reported proficiency in 26 SyS tasks within 5 categories, analyzed by LHD jurisdiction size and respondents' years of SyS experience.ResultsSyS expertise varied widely across LHDs. Less than 50% of workers who have access to SyS demonstrated overall proficiency within any of the task areas: communication, data use, data analysis, quality monitoring and assurance, and system design and development. SyS users were strongest in data use tasks. Proficiency in SyS practice corresponded directly with respondents' years of SyS experience and the LHD jurisdiction size.ConclusionSyS practitioners display a wide range of proficiencies both within and across SyS tasks. Considerable gaps in proficiencies of all areas of SyS practice indicate a need for technical assistance and knowledge dissemination to improve SyS practice as an important component of an LHD surveillance strategy.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Preparing the public health workforce to practice evidence-based decision making (EBDM) is necessary to effectively impact health outcomes. Few studies report on training needs in EBDM at the national level in the United States. We report competency gaps to practice EBDM based on four U.S. national surveys we conducted with the state and local public health workforce between 2008 and 2013. METHODS:We compared self-reported data from four U.S. national online surveys on EBDM conducted between 2008 and 2013. Participants rated the importance of each EBDM competency then rated how available the competency is to them when needed on a Likert scale. We calculated a gap score by subtracting availability scores from importance scores. We compared mean gaps across surveys and utilized independent samples t tests and Cohen's d values to compare state level gaps. In addition, participants in the 2013 state health department survey selected and ranked three items that "would most encourage you to utilize EBDM in your work" and items that "would be most useful to you in applying EBDM in your work". We calculated the percentage of participants who ranked each item among their top three. RESULTS:The largest competency gaps were consistent across all four surveys: economic evaluation, communicating research to policymakers, evaluation designs, and adapting interventions. Participants from the 2013 state level survey reported significantly larger mean importance and availability scores (p <0.001, d =1.00, and p <0.001, d?=?.78 respectively) and smaller mean gaps (p <0.01, d?=?.19) compared to the 2008 survey. Participants most often selected "leaders prioritizing EBDM" (67.9%) among top ways to encourage EBDM use. "EBDM training for specific areas" was most commonly ranked as important in applying EBDM (64.3%). CONCLUSION:Perceived importance and availability of EBDM competencies may be increasing as supports for EBDM continue to grow through trends in funding, training, and resources. However, more capacity building is needed overall, with specific attention to the largest competency gaps. More work with public health departments to both situate trainings to boost competency in these areas and continued improvements for organizational practices (leadership prioritization) are possible next steps to sustain EBDM efforts.

Dataset Information

Federal Public Health Workforce Development: An Evidence-Based Approach for Defining Competencies.

Publications

Federal Public Health Workforce Development: An Evidence-Based Approach for Defining Competencies.

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