The Future of Public Health: Where You Might Fit
Healthcare
There is a growing demand for healthcare workers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, there will be 2.6 million additional healthcare jobs created between 2020-2030. No surprise, many public health professionals are found in the healthcare industry as community nurses or program managers. These professionals focus on strengthening communities by making connections. They also do work similar to that described by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundations’ initiative, cross-sector alignment. RWJF believes integration of healthcare, social services and leadership in public health leads to sustainable progress.
Advocacy
Many issues related to equity in patient care were exposed by the pandemic. Ethnic and racial factors had an impact on the quality of treatment for COVID-19-affected individuals. Between 2020-2021, there has been a lot of Public Health research on the devastating effects of inherent biases. We can only hope that public-health advocates will continue this important research into 2022, and beyond. It is possible to make public health more equitable by advocating as a director, researcher of Public Health economics, program leader, or manager of community centers.
Policy
Public health suffers when there is no plan and no management of resources. Some might argue that the United States’ response to the COVID-19 Pandemic was a failure. This includes changing guidelines about masking that caused whiplash among citizens and reduced their trust. There were also supply chain issues that could have been avoided if there had been more duplicity. They balance the priorities of public health policies and ensure that initiatives are on track. They can also stress test for multiple scenarios. Public health professionals who are skilled in managing budgets and health litigation can have a huge impact, especially when things don’t go as planned. These influential positions can be found at the federal, state, and local levels.
Epidemiology
The core of the work of epidemiologists is data collection, computer modeling, as well as research on disease and injury patterns. They work in a variety of industries from global N.G.O.s to pharmaceutical companies. They are the core of Public Health problem prevention. The technological advances in healthcare should allow epidemiologists to conduct research that will be ahead of any future pandemics.
The legacy of 2022 is still to be built so we need to remain optimistic about the future of public healthcare. We know now more about COVID-19’s future viral evolution than ever before, and the U.S. has a higher GDP than all other major global economies. It is the perfect time to begin a career that blends many disciplines and contributes to humanity.
Additional Resource:
https://www.waldenu.edu/programs/health/resource/what-is-public-health-and-why-is-it-important
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/
https://www.bcu.ac.uk/health-sciences/about-us/school-blog/why-is-public-health-important
