Current status of the public health care professional

Abstract

Background: The quality and sustainability of health care depends on a qualified workforce, and well-trained public health professionals and workers protect and promote health, address health disparities, and enable rapid response to health emergencies. Public health care and services include monitoring, researching and controlling the health status of the population and the factors affecting it, promoting and protecting health, preventing diseases and disorders, and providing health education to the population. For the services mentioned before public health workforce is a key component of a country’s public health infrastructure. In order to meet the needs of the public health workforce, information on its size, composition and population demand is needed. The reason for conducting this study is that the information and characteristics about the public health workforce is necessary to support the planning and policy development of the public health workforce of the country. Aim: To study the demographic characteristics of professionals providing public health care in health care facilities Materials and Methods: According to the model of epidemiologic research, data collected by questionnaires from provincial, soum and districts family health centers, general hospitals in soum, provincial and district general hospitals, regional diagnostic and treatment centers, specialized hospitals, and health centers were used and descriptive analysis was performed. Results: In the study, 428 public health specialists and health care workers from 6 districts of Ulaanbaatar and 125 soum of 16 provinces, total of 243 organizations providing the main public health care services participated. Their average age was 33.9±9.3 years, 10.7% were men, and 89.3% were women. 66.1 percent of the respondents are from rural areas and the age group is different compared to the location, and relatively young people are working in the city. 11.6 percent of all participants in the study were public health researchers, 6.5 percent were hygienists and epidemiologists, 6.3 percent were public health researchers and hygienists, and 10.2 percent were health social workers. When comparing the occupations of the participants with their current positions, the percentage of public health researchers and hygienists is the highest, 64.3 percent of hygienists and epidemiologists, 50 percent of public health researchers, and 29.5 percent of health social workers which are working according to their profession. On the other hand, 30.4 percent of people with other types of professions are working as public health specialists, hygienists, and epidemiologists. Conclusion: Public health specialists, hygienists, and epidemiologists account for 34.5 percent of the total number of public health care providers surveyed, and it is necessary to provide professional human resources for public health care positions in the future.