Public health efforts have resulted in tremendous improvements in the health of individuals and communities through preventive health services, vaccines, improved sanitation and hygiene, safer workplaces, and enhanced food and drug safety. However, despite the achievements of public health, there is a growing shortage of public health workers, including a critical shortage of public health physicians, and many public health workers are inadequately prepared to face today’s public health challenges.
Concern about this shortage led the U.S. Congress to mandate an IOM study to determine:
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what knowledge and skills are needed by public health physicians,
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the number of programs needed to maintain an adequate supply of physicians trained for public health careers, and;
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how these programs can be funded.
The resulting report, Training Physicians for Public Health Careers, makes recommendations that address this charge.