Recommended citation: Schaffer K, Porter J, Castrucci BC. “Survey: Public Health Employees Eager to Address Racism as A Public Health Crisis,” de Beaumont Foundation. October 2023.
Recommended citation: Schaffer K, Porter JM, Bell C, Castrucci BC. “From Words to Action: Equipping the Public Health Workforce to Advance Health Equity,” de Beaumont Foundation. May 2025.
As the providers of essential public health services, the state and local government public health workforce is uniquely positioned to take on the root causes of structural racism in communities nationwide. An analysis of PH WINS 2021 data released in October 2023 provides the first exploration of public health employees’ views on addressing racism as a public health crisis, how much they have been involved in such efforts, and the resources and support they need. A follow-up qualitative study released in May 2025 builds on those findings by offering critical insights into the workforce’s capacity and readiness to advance health equity—and practical steps agencies can take to drive meaningful change.
Key findings:
- Nearly three-quarters (72%) of state and local government public health employees believe that addressing racism as a public health crisis should be part of their work within their agencies. However, only about 4 in 10 (39%) employees reported being highly engaged in such efforts.
- A strong majority of public health agency executives (81%) believe that addressing racism should be part of their work.
- Over half of the government public health workforce (58%) believes they lack adequate funding to address racism as a public health crisis.
- Equity efforts are often viewed as “extra” work taken on by a few motivated staff, rather than integrated into the core responsibilities of all employees.
- Key barriers to effectively address systemic inequities within and outside of organizations include unsupportive organizational policies and culture, limited leadership action, and political climates that restrict equity-focused language and strategies.