Mapping of Public Health Jobs in India—Where Can the Public Health Graduates Be Employed?

Abstract

Introduction: Public health programmes work to improve the health and well-being of communities by identifying the risks affecting people at different stages of life and finding best ways to minimize them. This article attempts to map the public health jobs available in India and contribute towards providing new insights in recruitment strategies for public health professionals (PHPs). Methods: A total of 427 public health jobs advertised in recruitment portals, newspapers and websites of organizations during 2012–2015 were analysed for title, qualification, location and job disciplines. Results: Higher qualification in public health and/or social sciences is much preferred followed by MBBS and management. The largest group of vacancies consisted of programme management responsibilities followed by profiles in RMNCH. Delhi, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar had the highest number of jobs. Recommendations: A dedicated public health jobs web portal can be a rich resource for employers for easy access to profiles of PHPs. It will also give due emphasis to public health as a profession. Building a public health cadre in state health services shall be a desirable step to ensure creation of enough job opportunities. Conclusion: Research should be undertaken to understand the changing trends in public health employment. Such studies can be beneficial for public health workforce planning and monitoring.