The University of Iowa College of Public Health has received $2.1 million through a contract with the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) to deliver a public health workforce development package for the state. The project, which began in mid-2021 and will conclude in June 2023, is funded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The Act provides additional relief through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to states to establish, expand, and sustain a public health workforce.

The UI College of Public Health and IDPH’s partnership will deliver training and education for new and existing public health staff, provide a range of learning opportunities for public health students, focus on developing pipelines of public health workers, and provide specialized collaborative opportunities across academic and professional communities.

The leadership team for the project includes Edith Parker, dean of the UI College of Public Health; Laurie Walkner, interim director of the Institute for Public Health Practice; Scot Reisinger, assistant dean of student services; and Vickie Miene, interim director of the Iowa Institute of Public Health Research and Policy.

“This is an exciting project that leverages the expertise of the College of Public Health’s faculty, the skills and energy of our students, and our longstanding connections with practitioners throughout the state,” says Miene, who serves as project director. “These efforts will help strengthen Iowa’s local public health workforce and provide valuable learning experiences for students.”   

Highlights of the project include:

• Workforce training and education in a variety of areas, including the effective communication of data; health equity, cultural competency, and meeting the needs of underserved populations; supporting the mental health and resiliency of the public health workforce; and building support for the profession.
• Enhanced internship and service learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the University of Iowa College of Public Health.
• An interdisciplinary team of students and faculty that will work with local public health departments to respond to emergent needs. Examples include responding to human-caused or natural disasters or assisting with communication campaigns on a variety of public health topics.
• Public Health Workforce Coalition The primary focus for the coalition is to ensure Iowa’s public health workforce is equipped to address complex challenges and to facilitate strategic partnerships that will expand opportunities and resources vital to workforce development.
• Academic Public Health Partnership (APHP) The purpose of the APHP is to enhance the coordination of public health education, workforce development, and affiliation of local public health agencies and schools of public health by facilitating collaboration across the academic and practice communities.