Public health system partnerships: Engaging local boards of health in educating a future public health workforce

The Institute of Medicine concluded that keeping the public healthy required not only a well-educated public health workforce but also an educated citizenry, thus leading to its recommendation that “all undergraduates should have access to education in public health.” In response to this call, the authors studied the feasibility and value in building a functional collaborative model between college faculty and boards of health from local health departments to educate tomorrow's public health workforce and to promote a broader understanding of public health, particularly with regard to the roles, functions, and practices of public health at the local level. Members of identified boards of health from local and regional health departments in New England were surveyed to: (1) establish a baseline of existing working relationships between them and nearby two- and four-year colleges; (2) examine their actual or perceived role in the public health education of undergraduates and residents within their local communities; and (3) assess how they collaboratively contribute to public health workforce development. The authors suggest how effective collaborations facilitate a broad-based, universal appreciation of public health among undergraduates and the citizenry. This approach, combining basic public health lessons with practical experience, expertise, and leadership offered by local boards of health is one way to foster an understanding of public health, its importance, practice, and relevance for tomorrow's public health professional and the broader community they seek to serve.