With Hawaiʻi facing a critical shortage of public health professionals, the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Thompson School of Social Work & Public Health is strengthening the public health workforce pathway—starting in high school classrooms.
Lightbulbs go off when participants realize how much public health shapes their daily lives.
—Yuka Polovina
The Hawaiʻi State Department of Education (DOE) offers a Career and Technical Education (CTE) Health Services pathway that includes a focus in public health, but only five schools statewide currently offer it. Limited awareness of public health careers among students—and limited familiarity with foundational public health concepts among teachers—have slowed expansion.
To help address this gap and increase the number of schools offering the pathway, Yuka Polovina, a faculty member in the Department of Public Health Sciences (DPHS) at the Thompson school, developed “Public Health 101 for CTE Teachers” (PH101-CTE). The workshop builds awareness of public health careers and equips educators with foundational concepts and classroom strategies, showing how public health principles can be integrated into lessons, activities and assessments.
“When I meet students who are interested in health fields, more often than not they say it’s because they want to help their communities,” said Polovina, who also serves as a workshop instructor. “It then surprises me when they say they want to become a nurse or doctor. Few know that public health is another powerful way to make an impact, and once students learn about it, they get excited.”
Real-world learning in action
The first PH 101 training, held in October 2025, brought together Windward District teachers in health services and agriculture pathways. Organized by Windward District CTE Resource Teacher Trisha Kim, the workshop highlighted connections between sustainability, food systems and public health.
“This is the best form of teacher professional development,” said Kim. “We are grateful for our partnership and the positive impact for our Windward District students.”
The day included a session at Kailua High School, facilitated by Polovina, and a site visit to the Waimānalo Learning Center. The visit was led by Jane Chung-Do, acting chair of DPHS, along with Ilima Ho-Lastimoa and Ted Radovich from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR). Participants learned about the MALAMA Aquaponics program, offering a hands-on and place-based example of public health in practice.
“Lightbulbs go off when participants realize how much public health shapes their daily lives––from the clean air we breathe to the simple fact that we don’t have to boil water before drinking it,” said Polovina. “They immediately see how their students will connect to it too.”
The PH 101 training is open to DOE CTE teachers statewide, with another session tentatively planned for this spring. Teachers interested in participating can request a workshop by emailing hiphwork@hawaii.edu.
This initiative builds on efforts from the Hawaiʻi Public Health Workforce Catalyst Lab and is supported through collaboration with the Hawaiʻi State Department of Health’s Public Health Infrastructure Grant.
