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Federal and State Financial Support for Training of Public Health Professionals

Policy Date: 1/1/1994
Policy Number: 9414

The American Public Health Association,
Recognizing that a major change in the organization and financing of health care will significantly increase the need for well-trained public health professionals to implement health care reform at the federal, state, and local levels; and
Recognizing the existence of shortages of well-trained personnel in several public health categories and the need to train leaders in public health as called for by the Institute of Medicine;¹ and
Noting that achieving Healthy People 2000 objectives as well as the goals of health care reform, including universal coverage, universal access, and cost control will depend, in part, on effective leadership of health agencies and community-based organizations at the federal, state, and local levels, and noting that these agencies and organizations rely on accredited schools of public health and other accredited graduate programs for the training of public health professionals to provide such leadership; and
Deploring the termination of federal capitation grants to schools of public health in 1990,² which has weakened the training of public health professionals; and
Noting the further burden placed on schools of public health and other graduate programs for the training of public health professionals by reduced state funding for universities; and
Noting that the Association of Schools of Public Health has proposed the establishment of a public health service corps to train leaders to assist in the implementation of health care reform;³ and
Reaffirming APHA’s long-standing and repeated support for federal aid to graduate schools of public health and for the training of public health professionals;⁴ and
Recognizing that APHA envisions a critical role for public health agencies and public health personnel in a reformed health care system;⁵ and
Convinced that higher education for public health is a national concern whose responsibility should be shared by Federal and state governments, educational institutions, and operating health agencies;⁶ therefore
1. Calls on the executive branch of the federal government to propose and support legislation appropriating adequate funding for accredited schools of public health and other accredited graduate programs for the training of public health professionals and calls on Congress to enact such legislation as a high priority in order to meet the needs of the nation for properly qualified public health personnel;
2. Calls on state legislatures and state governments to provide financial support for accredited schools of public health and other accredited graduate programs for the training of public health professionals to prepare future public health professionals for service and leadership; and
3. Calls on state and local public health agencies to provide in-kind contributions or appropriate cost sharing for the training of future public health professionals for their agencies.

References

1. Institute of Medicine. The Future of Public Health. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1988;16:119–122.


2. Health Professions Training Assistance Act of 1984, PL 99-129.


3. Resolution passed by the deans of the schools of public health during their Interim Meeting, October 25, 1993, held in conjunction with the APHA Annual Meeting, San Francisco, Calif.


4. American Public Health Association Policy Statements 5001, 5407, 5501, 5714, 5905, 7116, 7829. Washington, DC: APHA Public Policy Statements, 1948–present, current volume.


5. A national health program for all of us. The Nation’s Health. March 1993:ii.


6. Higher Education for Public Health: A Report of the Milbank Memorial Fund Commission. New York, NY: Prodist for the Milbank Memorial Fund, 1976;201–202.

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