Public health workforce trends since 1980: myth or reality?

Increasingly, the national spotlight has been on the needs of the public health workforce fueled, in part, by assertions that the number of public health workers has declined since 1980. A closer examination suggests that there is little evidence to support the claim of a shrinking workforce and that the number of public health workers has actually been increasing at a rate greater than that of the general population. These findings suggest that the evidence base for public health workforce preparedness efforts must be strengthened.