Minnesota's Public Health Workforce

In 2002, the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) received funding to explore the issue of workforce shortages in public health. The funding allowed MDH to collaborate with other partners, including the University of Minnesota to count and describe the existing governmental public health workforce, and to identify key messages to encourage people to get advanced education in public health.

Minnesota's Vision for the Public Health Workforce

The public health workforce:

  • Has an adequate supply of suitably educated public health professionals
  • Reflects the populations we serve
  • Is appropriately distributed throughout the state

Counting Minnesota’s Workforce

In 2004, MDH counted all public health professionals in Minnesota in an effort to more clearly describe and understand any upcoming staffing shortages. A series of reports, including a local public health staff report, an agency report, and a statewide workforce report, were produced to summarize these findings.

To review the results, download the reports below:

Recruitment and Retention Strategies

The Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice have developed a set of strategies to address public health worker shortages.