The COVID‑19 pandemic revealed just how vital Hawaiʻi’s public health workers are—from keeping water safe to tracking disease outbreaks. A new Hawaiʻi Journal of Health & Social Welfare (HJH&SW) Special Issue maps out challenges, innovations, and opportunities shaping the future of public health in the islands.
Guest edited by University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa faculty members Tetine Sentell and Rebekah Rodericks from the Department of Public Health Sciences in the Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health, and Lola Irvin from the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health (DOH) along with many statewide partners, this special issue serves as a roadmap for sustaining and expanding Hawaiʻi’s diverse public health workforce. Conceived in response to the extraordinary efforts and capacity strains experienced during the pandemic, it highlights the urgency and opportunity to grow a workforce in ways that reflect and serve Hawaiʻi’s communities.
Workforce challenges and urgent needs
Public health professionals help ensure clean air and water, safe food, and healthy environments for all residents. Yet, chronic underfunding, staff shortages, and burnout threaten this essential work. A recent DOH survey found that 43% of DOH employees (compared to 36% of other state employees) were considering leaving within a year. The department also reported a 30% vacancy rate, highlighting the ongoing workforce shortage. Nationally, public health and prevention make up less than 5% of all health spending and are often a target for budget cuts.
Areas of innovation and resilience
Despite these challenges, the special issue also provides solutions and successes:
- Quantifying Hawaiʻi’s workforce (PDF): providing policymakers with data to plan for future needs.
- Strengthening the environmental health workforce (PDF): expanding career pathways and training for students in water, toxicology, and other areas of environmental health.
- Building a dementia-capable workforce (PDF): meeting the needs of kūpuna (elders) and caregivers.
- Expanding social welfare workforce (PDF): social workers contributing through advocacy, disaster response, grief counseling, health promotion, and policy change to advance health equity.
- Assuring the “Public” in “Public Health” (PDF): the Department of Public Health Sciences strengthening workforce capacity, diversity, and connectedness by centering students and community.
- Evaluating the Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health Summer Health Academy (PDF): integrating Indigenous knowledge in student training to support public health workforce diversity.
- Building the Future Hawaiʻi Public Health Workforce with Internships (PDF): building future leaders through training and leadership opportunities.
“This issue articulates the multifaceted importance of this workforce in the state, as well as its size, needs, opportunities and areas of innovation and achievement,” said Sentell, professor and chair of the Department of Public Health Sciences. “We thank the journal, our amazing expert editorial board, and the reviewers and authors of the special issue for their time and expertise that made this possible.”
At the Hawaiʻi Health Workforce Summit on September 6, 2025, UH and DOH hosted a session on supporting Hawaiʻi’s public health workforce. A follow-up webinar on October 7, co-hosted with the Hawaiʻi Public Health Institute, continued the discussion and shared resources, including a new public health loan repayment program.
