234: PH WINS Survey Released

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday August 4th, 2022. I'm Robert Johnson.  

Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.  

BRIAN CASTRUCCI: 

Our public health workers are not okay.  

JOHNSON: 

That's de Beaumont Foundation president and CEO Dr. Brian Castrucci on the release of the latest PH Wins survey of nearly 45,000 public health workers across the nation. Castrucci says the results are concerning.  

CASTRUCCI: 

There is an amazing rate of public health workers who have experienced one or more symptoms of PTSD—more than half of our workforce—and we have nearly a quarter of our workforce that have three or more symptoms of PTSD.  

This workforce is burnt out. This workforce has been bullied and harassed, and we need to stand up for our public health workforce or our safety, security, and economic prosperity could fall.  

JOHNSON: 

Castrucci says public health professionals have not received the support they need to serve their communities.  

CASTRUCCI: 

The two things that the workforce said that they needed in COVID were support from the public and support from elected officials. That doesn't cost anything. But what we saw were some elected officials antagonizing public health, undermining public health.  

JOHNSON: 

He wants health department leaders and politicians to examine the data on an interactive dashboard created for the project and then use it to inform action plans.  

CASTRUCCI: 

Health commissioners need to tear apart these data like they tear apart data from BRFSS or from a community health needs assessment. They need to come up with a plan. They need to figure out how they can make their workforce better 'cause no matter how good it is, it can always be better.  

JOHNSON: 

Castrucci says it's the least we can do for the workers who've attempted to keep us safe during the pandemic. 

CASTRUCCI: 

We don't have any fancy machines. We don't have proprietary technology. We are the butts in the seats that, through the last two years, while your friends were talking about their sourdough starters and their gardens, they worked. They worked overtime, they worked weekends. And we owe them a workplace that is equal to their commitment, to the health of the public.  

JOHNSON: 

You can find links to the PH Wins dashboard and other related resources in the show notes. 

Two new hotlines to help people overcome mental health challenges are the topic of a webinar planned this month. ASTHO is teaming with the Association of Maternal and Child Health Programs, or AMCHP, to educate public health professionals about the 988 Suicide Prevention hotline and the Help-4-Moms hotline.  

Stacy Collins is with AMCHP. 

STACY COLLINS: 

When taken together, they'll cover a continuum of behavioral health needs from women with postpartum depression seeking help in finding mental health providers to people experiencing active suicidal ideation who need immediate assistance.  

JOHNSON: 

The webinar is set for Wednesday, August 17th at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. Sign up using the link in the show notes. 

Also this morning, another hotline in Guam has experienced high call volumes since the start of the pandemic. The Guam Behavioral Health and Wellness Center's crisis hotline handled an average of 600–700 calls each month in 2020. Last year, the hotline received an average of more than 800 calls every month.  

You can read more about Guam's experience with the hotline in a new ASTHO blog article—there's a link in the show notes.  

Finally today, there's a new resource to help teams working to prevent adverse childhood experiences. ASTHO and the New York University School of Global Public Health have created a report summarizing evidence-supported prevention policies considered by state legislatures from 2019 through 2021. Download the 17-page report using the link in the show notes.  

That'll do it for today's newscast. We're back tomorrow morning with more ASTHO news and information.  

I'm Robert Johnson. You're listening to Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great day.