Building the tribal public health infrastructure through workforce development

Now, more than ever, tribal public health entities are expanding their roles and responsibilities. As such, there is a growing need to identify gaps in public health knowledge and skills. Additionally, with public health accreditation on the horizon for many, there are competencies that need to be developed and reinforced. To identify specific areas of need for tribal public health workforce development, a needs assessment was piloted among Tribal public health professionals. The assessment tool is based on the 8 core competencies for public health professionals defined by the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice. The same instrument was previously piloted among a group of mainstream public health professionals. The Tribal pilot revealed competencies were lower than expected in areas such as analytical skills and program planning. Tribal respondents, however, were more likely than their non-tribal counterparts to need high-level cultural competency training, particularly in cross-cultural communication. There also appears to be a perceived gap in leadership and administrative skills between Tribal public health administrators and their teams (p< .05). For tribal entities to be fully prepared to meet current and future needs, capacity building in multiple areas is indicated. While much of the identified need parallels that of mainstream professionals, there are some tribal-specific areas of need for training and skill development. As tribes continue to build their public health capacities and prepare for accreditation through PHAB, it is essential to identify workforce strengths and gaps so as to prioritize training, support, and resource development.