The COVID-19 pandemic has subverted our claims of being the most advanced species on the planet as our global healthcare system drastically collapsed. With the need for a more stable healthcare system, the demand for Public Health workforce and careers has increased which calls for more and more people to join the Public Heath courses/careers.
In this article, we will talk about:
- The increased demand for Public Health Careers
- Why the demand for Public Health Careers will increase in the coming years
- Top Public Health careers in high demand with an exclusive list of top job profiles, along with the education/training requirements and median salaries
- Some of the most popular specializations in Public Health
- Top universities for Public Health education in the world
As per K. Srinath Reddy, the President of the Public Health Foundation in India, Southeast Asia requires 50% more healthcare manpower to achieve universal health coverage by 2030.
In addition to this, he said that the need of the hour is to design different courses for different categories of non-physician care providers.
As this graph clearly shows the shortfall of the healthcare workforce as compared to the burden of disease in different regions, there is no doubt that Public Health careers will be in high demand.
Also, according to data by Indeed– which is an American worldwide employment-related search engine for jobs, the number of healthcare sector job searches has increased by 5% from February 2019 to February 2020.
Multiple research works suggest that not only is the demand for Public Health practitioners high amidst the Covid-19 Pandemic but also it will keep on increasing year by year.
Why Will The Demand For Public Health Careers Increase Year By Year?
A journalistic investigation by Vox suggests that the disease outbreaks (such as Ebola, West Nile virus and Covid-19) have become rampant over the last 40 years and a majority of these diseases are zoonotic which means that they are spread to humans from animals. Sonia Shah, a science journalist and the author of the book “Pandemic” (2017), proposes that because of the expansion of humans into the territory of animals, the risk of contracting such diseases from animals has increased and more likely to increase in the future.
Additionally, Max Bergman, Chair of Social Research at the University of Basel, Research Councillor of the Swiss National Science Foundation and member of the Uganda National Academy of Sciences says that many countries will invest more in public health and health-related research. Hence, there is a clear demand for people to join courses and careers related to Public Health and this demand will only increase in the future.
Public Health Careers that are in High Demand:
- Epidemiologist
- Health Administrator
- Biostatistician
- Public Health Practitioner
- Public Affairs Consultant
- Behavioral Health Program Coordinator
- Tropical Disease Specialist
- Vaccine Researcher
- Environmentalist/Sanitarian
Please check out the exclusive list of Job Profiles with the Education/Training Requirements and their median salaries below:
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Source: MPHonline.org
Top Public Health Specialisations:
Public health specializations encompass biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health education and communication, health law, industrial hygiene, international health and development, maternal and child health, nutrition, social and behavioral sciences, and toxicology, etc.
As a master’s in Public Health, the following are some of the most sought-after choices:
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is related to the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations and also includes the application of this study for controlling health problems. The discipline is important as it looks into public health research, identifies risk factors for a disease and the best treatment methods in clinical practice.
After studying Epidemiology, you can further specialise in topics such as nutrition, genetics, environment, ageing, HIV/AIDS, cancer and heart disease.
Biostatistics
Biostatistics is connected with the development and application of statistical methods to a wide range of topics in biology. It involves the design of biological experiments, the collection and analysis of data from those experiments and the interpretation of the results.
Global Health
One of the ten main fields in the Public Health specialities, Global Health aims to eliminate health disparities by improvising access to care and creating awareness about public health policies to promote healthy habits among people around the world.
Students opting for the study of Global Health will be taught research methods, communication, and sociology. Students get to work with international organisations like a Peace Corps to create awareness about global public health. Potential career options for students with a degree in global health are- Refugee Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Educator and Project Manager.
Health Policy and Management
As a rise of the need for health policy workers grows, Health Policy Management as a study domain is the need of the hour. Health Policy and Management combines the study of economics, politics, management and finance, law, ethics and healthcare.
If you have critical thinking, interpersonal skills and potential to take on leadership roles, then this discipline is for you. The field has job opportunities in both public and private sectors; you can take on job roles such as- Health Service Manager, Health Department Administrator and Government Policy Analyst.
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Top Universities with Public Health Courses:
- Columbia University
- Emory University
- Harvard University
- Imperial College London
- Johns Hopkins University
- Karolinska Institute
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
- University of Bristol
- University of Copenhagen
- University of California, San Francisco
- University College London
- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Oxford
- University of Toronto
- University of Washington
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