As annual health care spending in the U.S. soars past 3.8 trillion dollars, public health expenditures are increasing along with it. Opportunities for leadership in the public health arena are growing as new programs are developed to meet health challenges around the world.
Jim Gambone, public health faculty lead in Capella’s School of Nursing and Health Sciences, shares his perspective on trends in public health and why developing public health leaders is such an important thrust in the industry right now. Gambone has been at Capella for 22 years and was one of the original university board members. His 29-year professional career in public health has been partly focused on developing intergenerational strategies and approaches to issues such as disaster preparation and homeland security.
Q. What does leadership in public health look like?
A. Public health is about protecting and improving communities through injury or disease prevention, education, and policy development. It is an area that encompasses many disciplines including medicine, biology, anthropology, public policy, and education. It is important for leaders in this space to work collaboratively and appreciate that there is crossover within all areas of public health.
Developing great leadership skills is something Capella strives to provide all its graduates. In public health programs, we concentrate on developing the following leadership skills:
- Personal growth and leadership excellence. Leaders must understand the characteristics of an effective leader.
- Leading organizational change. With public health issues becoming more nuanced and complex, leaders need to be adept in knowing how to drive change.
- Communication skills. Building competency in this area can be the difference between being an effective or ineffective public health leader.
- Good assessment skills. Analyzing situations from many angles will make for cogent solutions to pressing public health problems.
- Public policy development. Program-building skills are critical to building effective public health solutions.
- Diversity and inclusion. Great leaders understand how diversity in populations can influence public health solutions.
- Systems thinking skills. Big-picture thinking is necessary to attack the complex issues arising in public health today.
Q. What are some of the top public health issues that leaders should prepare for?
A. I see five key areas of focus for public health care leaders, although there are many others:
- Bioterrorism
This is a major concern in the area of public health. In my mind, it is not a question of if we’ll be attacked, but when we’ll be attacked, and public health will be key for prevention and recovery efforts. Leaders will need to be a part of proactive planning and development, such as they have done in the state of Georgia, and educate communities on what the implications can be and how to stay safe if an event occurs. Researchers are studying the emotional and behavioral consequences of bioterrorism, and the debate rages on about how many resources should be used in counter-bioterrorism efforts. There is much work to do in this area.
- Infectious Disease
Infections in hospitals, resistance to antibiotics, travel and communicable diseases across borders—these are all increasingly important issues of public health. We are an interconnected world and, as such, will share many of the same public health issues across the globe. Read more about the role epidemiologists are playing in this growing public health concern.
- Obesity and Famine
Obesity in first-world countries and famine in developing countries are emerging public health problems. We need to intervene at an early age to combat obesity and understand what the effects are on our health care system as two-thirds of Americans are overweight. On the other end of the spectrum, globally, more people go hungry today than ever before. This is a crisis in public health crying out for strong leadership.
- Do-It-Yourself Health Care
DIY health care through un-vetted apps and technology has become a rising phenomenon. Public health leaders will be forced to understand the effects of the DIY movement and develop public policies to respond to the issues it presents. And if this is the new way in health care, leaders will need to look at what this means for public health—can and should these same devices be used to monitor larger populations or community health issues, for instance
- Tobacco and Non-Tobacco Products
Smoking still kills half a million people in the U.S. each year and now we have the rising popularity of e-cigarettes that we don’t know much about. Through public health campaigns, we have seen tremendous progress in diminishing smoking in public places. Now we must also dedicate research resources to non-tobacco products, like e-cigarettes, to provide answers and insight into public health effects.
Q. How is Capella preparing leaders to deal with the issues you mention above?
A. Capella’s approach, particularly in the doctor of public health degree programs, is to focus on the skills and qualities we believe are necessary for leadership on any given topic. If we can focus on skill sets that cut across all areas of public health and can be used in any kind of program (whether as a bio-statistician, epidemiologist, etc.), we will be graduating great leaders wherever they land.
In particular, developing community-building and collaborative leadership are strengths of Capella’s program. Collaboration is of high importance—no one can deal with these issues alone. It is our job to develop leaders that can build strong communities working together to solve emergent problems.
Q. What are some of the public health leadership career opportunities? What does the career landscape look like?
A. Some of the places we see these leaders working include hospitals, nonprofits, state and local governments, colleges, pharmaceutical and medical manufacturing companies, community mental health centers, and scientific research facilities.
Overall, the career opportunities are very good. There will be positive job growth occurring through 2022. It’s a bright field that predicts faster than average increases in job opportunities in many positions, including social workers (19% faster), health educators (21% faster), and statisticians (27% faster). Other leadership positions include:
- Management policy advisor
- Nutritionists
- Bio statisticians
- Infection prevention specialists
- HIV specialists
- Public health veterinarians and doctors
- Vaccine researchers
- Mental health researchers
Learn more about Capella’s online public health programs.
