Authors
Rachel Hare Bork, Haley L Cash McGinley, Dulce Mendoza, Kay Schaffer, Alex Wheatley
Published in
American journal of public health. Volume 116. Issue S5. Pages S453-S462.
Abstract
US territories and freely associated states (T/FAS) deliver critical public health services to approximately 3.7 million people but have historically been excluded from national public health workforce assessments. Structural differences, such as smaller workforces, wide geographic distribution, and unique governance, have made it challenging to include T/FAS in public health workforce data systems. In 2025, the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey expanded to include the 8 T/FAS in the Islands Pilot. Between February 2025 and May 2025, survey invitations were sent to 8913 staff, resulting in 2556 responses for an overall response rate of 29% (19% in the Caribbean, 47% in the Pacific Islands). Findings reveal that the T/FAS workforce is younger and more racially and ethnically diverse and has higher job satisfaction and lower burnout despite differences in education, formal public health training, and benefits. Training needs were highest in the Pacific Islands, especially for policy engagement and systems and strategic thinking. The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey Islands Pilot highlights the value of culturally informed workforce assessments and provides data to support workforce planning, policy, and capacity building in underrepresented areas. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(S5):S453-S462. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308702).
PMID:
42777220
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 24 Sep 2026.
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