Photo credit: Rebecca Drobis
State and local public health workers report growing strain amid recent sociopolitical changes that affect their day-to-day. At de Beaumont’s recent webinar, speakers shared and discussed data from the PH WINS Pulse Check, a 2026 survey designed to gather the perspectives of individual public health workers, including how workforce conditions have shifted since the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) was fielded in late 2024. They shared strategies and approaches to help public health leaders better support their employees and improve well-being, retention, and communication.
Getting Grounded on PH WINS and Pulse Check
de Beaumont Senior Research Associate Maddy Popalis opened the webinar noting that PH WINS, first fielded in 2014, is the only nationally representative survey of state, territorial, and local government public health workers. It explores individual experiences being an employee in government public health, and aims to influence investments in workforce development, build the evidence base of training needs, and identify trends in attitudes, morale, and climate. The shorter, more focused PH WINS Pulse Check helps fill the gap between cycles of PH WINS.
Inside the Data: Signs of Workforce Strain
The 2026 Pulse Check assessed how the public health workforce feels, specifically related to well-being, burnout, satisfaction, intention to leave, and workplace climate compared to 2024. Among survey participants:
- 35% stated that burnout is worse or much worse.
- 34% indicated that stress is worse or much worse.
The strain, however, is not evenly distributed across age groups.
- 47% of those 35 or younger reported worse burnout in 2026, compared to 31% of their older colleagues.
- 31% of younger workers reported worse mental and emotional well-being than in 2024, compared to 21% of older workers.
Several aspects of the external environment drove their responses, including:
- Politics: 47% reported that outside politics are negatively affecting their work unit.
- Finances: 41% said their work unit’s budget is worse than it was in 2024.
- Information: 44% stated that federal public health information has worsened since 2024.
The result is a workforce ready for change. 42% plan to leave public health, up from 36% in 2024. Retirement intentions have doubled among workers 61 and older, with 23% planning to retire in the next year versus 11% in 2024. Without proactive strategies, these early exits will significantly strain public health in the months and years ahead.
Strategies and Recommendations to Support the Workforce
To explore a path forward, de Beaumont Senior Program Officer Elizabeth Gould led an expert panel conversation including Popalis and Jeanie Donovan, Director of Public Health & Policy at the New Orleans Department of Health & Human Services; Dr. Tony Price, Director, Employee Well-being for the University System of Georgia; and Dr. Lauren LaPine-Ray, Vice President of Policy & Rural Health and Executive Director of the Center of Rural Excellence at the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.
Panelists elevated several strategies for public health leaders to consider in their workplaces:
- Acknowledge the strain. Make space for little “pulse checks” with staff to share how they are doing and ask questions. Brainstorm solutions with them.
- Remember your why. PH WINS 2024 showed that mission was a top reason for people 35 and younger to work in public health. Pause and recall why public health was originally appealing, and reconnect with the mission of the work.
- Try new things. Form cross-department “quality of life” committees that can conduct brief surveys to discover local challenges, and what’s needed to overcome them to support the workforce.
- Find steadiness in the silence. The news flow can be all-consuming. Give yourself and your teams permission to step away from the work and return to it refreshed.
- Use what’s available. Remind your team of well-being resources already budgeted for and available to you, like Employee Assistance Programs.
- Be empowered. Seek opportunities to create the change you hope to realize. Consider getting involved in civic engagement by volunteering to help at local elections.
- Use peer networking or connecting across local health departments to discover who faces similar challenges, learn from each other, and collaborate on solutions.
View the webinar and access the research report to learn more about ways to support the public health workforce.
