Public Health Employees’ Perceptions about the Impact of Emerging Public Health Trends on Their Day-to-Day Work: Effects of Organizational Climate and Culture

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this research was to assess the workforce characteristics associated with public health employees’ perceived impact of emerging trends in public health on their day-to-day work. Methods: Multinomial logistic regression was performed to analyze data from the 2017 PH WINS, a cross-sectional survey utilizing a nationally representative sample of the United States public health workforce. Results: More than 55% of the public health workforce perceived that their day-to-day work was impacted by the emerging public health trends. Workplace environment was significantly associated with the perception of their day-to-day work being impacted by emerging public health trends such as quality improvement (QI) (AOR = 1.04, p < 0.001), and evidence-based public health practice (EBPH) (AOR = 1.04, p < 0.001). Race, ethnicity, and educational status were also positively associated with the perceived impact of the emerging public health trends. Conclusions: The organizational culture of a public health agency influences the engagement of the workforce and their perception of the meaningfulness of their work. As practitioners shift into chief health strategists, it will be imperative for them to have training in public health foundations and tools in order to efficiently serve their communities.