Click to download graphic.
The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) Pulse Check was conducted in March 2026 to understand the impact of external factors on the public health workforce’s retention, well-being, and satisfaction since PH WINS 2024 was administered in late 2024. It gathered the perspectives of individual state and local public health workers on key topics including well-being, job satisfaction, burnout, intent to leave, and workplace climate.
The PH WINS Pulse Check was distributed online to 13,486 PH WINS 2024 respondents and was completed by 4,827 employees, resulting in a 36% response rate.
Pulse Check Key Findings
- Workforce strain is taking a toll. When asked about what has changed since 2024, 35% report worsening feelings of burnout and 34% report a stress level that is worse or much worse. Nearly half (47%) of employees age 35 and younger report worse or much worse feelings of burnout, compared to 31% of older employees.
- Political conditions are affecting the work. Nearly half of employees (47%) say outside politics are negatively influencing their work unit’s activities and 41% say their work unit’s budget is worse than in 2024.
- Many employees plan to leave their organizations. 31% of employees age 35 and younger plan to leave in the next year, compared to 23% of those age 36-54 and 25% of those age 55 and older. 23% of employees age 61 and older plan to retire in the next year, up from 11% in 2024.
- Opportunities for advancement remain limited and job instability has grown. One in four employees report that their opportunities for advancement have worsened since 2024. Among those, 22% cite job instability as a reason for leaving, doubled from 11% in 2024.
Data Brief
Click to download report.
Public health employees are feeling more strain than they were in 2024, with about one in three saying burnout (35%) and stress (34%) have gotten worse and 47% saying outside politics are negatively affecting their work. Younger staff are feeling this strain more acutely and are the most likely to say they plan to leave in the next year (31%). This data brief provides a snapshot of the public health workforce experience and assesses the impact of changes in conditions since PH WINS 2024.
Survey and Data Access
View the PH WINS Pulse Check Instrument.
To request raw data to conduct your own analysis, please review the instrument linked above and fill out this short form.