Public health workforce enumeration.

Comprehensive data on the public health workforce are fundamental to workforce development throughout the public health system. Such information is also a critical data element in public health systems research, a growing area of study that can inform the practice of public health at all levels. However, methodologic and institutional issues challenge the development of comparable indicators for the federal, state, and local public health workforce. A 2006-2007 Association of State and Territorial Health Officials workforce enumeration pilot project demonstrated the issues involved in collecting workforce data. This project illustrated key elements of an institutionalized national system of workforce enumeration, which would be needed for a robust, recurring count that provides a national picture of the public health workforce.