During the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that started in late 2020, public health systems around the world were forced to re-prioritize and struggle with insufficient resources. Public health professionals began their career during eras where infectious diseases were part of everyday life and had a clear priority: prevention and control of infections and vector borne diseases.
How COVID impacted public health in a global level ?
Public health was necessary for third world countries because of the lack of basic healthcare and medications needed for treatment. Public health prioritized infectious diseases, while noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes mellitus, chronic respiratory illness etc. were considered less important. Public health workers had to split their resources between preventing or catching serious communicable diseases vs promoting healthy lifestyles to decrease the prevalence of noncommunicable diseases. Public health professionals in the past had to focus on communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria since they were responsible for a large number of deaths worldwide. Public health workers always faced the challenge of insufficient resources, but never experienced a virus that could cause nearly 1 million deaths per year globally at one point. Public health systems around the world struggled with their limited budgets and manpower to provide sufficient data surveillance and take necessary actions to prevent COVID-19 from spreading within counties or regions. Public Health departments were overburdened by COVID-19 pandemic that now seems like it’s been going on forever, thus eroding their capabilities to take care of other public health issues such as tobacco control, alcohol control, mental health, diabetes prevention etc. Public health systems will be forced to rethink their role in society and prioritize certain issues that are deemed as priorities now.
Public health funding will now have to be restructured so public health systems could tackle more efficiently the challenges of the future such as climate change or antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Public Health workers are beginning to question themselves why they chose this career path since they had high expectations of being part of positive changes within society but ended up fighting an invisible enemy eternally with limited resources. Public health workers understand that is not the COVID-19 pandemic fault per se , but rather due to lack of political commitment for finding a solution on time before the virus mutated into the strain that was initially obtained from Saudi Arabia in early 2021. Public health systems are still struggling with the lack of proper strategies to deal with COVID-19 pandemic, which is likely to continue for at least another decade before scientists are able to find a vaccine or at least have efficient treatment against this virus.
Also, Public Health departments are now suffering from severe staff shortages due to high turnover rate as public health workers leave their jobs making it difficult for Public Health Systems to properly prioritize certain issues. Public health professionals understand that the low-income communities already suffering from high rates of infectious diseases will also be experiencing higher mortality rates during the next years because the economic impact of COVID-19 is not limited only by persons affected directly by the disease but also by those indirectly affected through loss of productivity caused by illness of their relatives. Public health departments question their role in society, while believing that they are doing everything to protect citizens from future pandemics. Public Health Systems are currently overstretched by the lack of financial support and staff, which is leaving them with little capacity to deliver effective services or have an impact on public health issues outside the Public Health department. Public Health professionals understand that Public Health Systems could be doing more work but due to limited resources they are forced to prioritize one type of issue over another creating backlogs within Public Health Departments that may affect both citizen’s safety and productivity of Public Health Systems.(see appendix for more detailed information about COVID-19.
Public health is an immensely diverse field, which is why public health workers need to continuously work on their knowledge in order for them to stay at the cutting edge of what is happening in society. Public Health systems are often under pressure by various stakeholders to deliver more effective Public Health programs but without enough Public Health professionals working there might not be enough sustainable impact made within Public Health Systems that will benefit Public Health departments. Public health worker’s expectations of their jobs were too high according to surveys done every year, only 20% of Public health workers are still working in Public Health 5 years after graduation most likely due to lack of stability and financial rewards (see appendix for more information about public health workforce).
Public health is an important part of society that can potentially impact many aspects in which Public Health workers are having a positive effect on Public Health Systems. Public Health Systems are directly benefiting Public Health departments in terms of policies and funding opportunities (see appendix). This means that public health cannot only be seen as limited to Public Health Departments but also by other stakeholders within society (see appendix for more information about COVID-19 pandemic ).
How public health is impacted in Nepal ?
The public health system has come under immense pressure since the emergence of COVID-19 . The demand for services has resulted in increased waiting times at Public Health facilities in Nepal especially among low-income populations who rely on Public Health resources. Public health systems are coping with increasing demands by prioritizing Public Health emergencies over Public Health public health measures. The financing of Public Health Systems has been a challenge since the pandemic started, most Public health agencies have made massive budget cuts in the last few years resulting in less capacity to respond to Public Health emergencies and increased pressures on Public Health Systems who already had difficulties funding their services before the COVID-19 pandemic . Public Health systems are currently working with increased staff shortages due to high turnover rates as Public health workers leave their jobs making it difficult for Public health systems to properly prioritize certain issues (see appendix for more detailed information about COVID-19 ). This pressing issue is increasing with rise in COVID Cases day by day.
There has been a major influx of Public health professionals becoming unemployed or underemployed due to lack of available jobs. Young graduates are looking for employment outside the public health industries because there is limited job security with Public Health Systems since they run on limited budgets most likely resulting in hiring freezes and Public Health workers not getting full time hours. This affects Public health training programs as fewer people want to enroll into these programs knowing that their chances of Public health employment is increasing limited. Public health departments are also struggling to provide Public Health training because of budget cuts and restructuring due to limited resources within Public Health systems (see appendix for more information about public health workforce).
Public health Information Infographic(to use as knowledge, not to be copied verbatim): Public health workers have been disappearing from the Public Health industry due to Public Health Systems and Public Health Departments not prioritizing Public Heath issues enough (see appendix for more detailed information about COVID-19 pandemic ). The lack of infrastructure in Public Healthy systems has definitely contributed to the lack of stability in jobs that Public health professionals receive resulting in less people entering into Public Health industries (see appendix for more detailed information about COVID-19 ).
The Public Health Systems are not seen publicly as Public health organizations that Public Health workers can rely on to solve Public Health issues. Public Health Systems are not seen as Public health partners by Public health professionals which is Public health contributing to the lack of Public health activities, investments, and training programs in Public heath Systems at the moment. Thus, it is very essential for us to collaborate and work for the benefit of the society and enhance the level of public health, our society and every citizen as a whole.