Abstract
Since the development of a Bachelor of Arts in public health, a common question among prospective students, faculty, and community members has been asked: “What will students do after graduation?” While national data on graduates are abundant, community inquiries sought more detailed profiles of local graduates. To address this need, data on 224 graduates of the Bachelors of Arts in Public Health (BAPH) degree at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa were collected through alumni outreach efforts and professional online profile searches. Data were compiled into a summary presentation and program “resume”. Findings indicated roughly 30% of BAPH graduates pursued graduate-level education and 43% were employed within a year of graduation. Employment in local NGOs and healthcare organizations was common, while bureaucratic challenges limited hiring at public agencies. A review of job titles suggested graduates were employed in program coordination or support staffing. Local program profiles, such as this one, complement national employment data. Moreover, these efforts may foster interest among prospective students and support from faculty, administrators, and employers.
Highlights
Public health has never been more important than during this troubling time of both pandemic and health infodemic
While a notable portion of the graduating class continued studying at University of Hawai‘i at Manoa (UHM), other graduates were harder to survey
From program inception to the conclusion of the Spring 2020 semester, 224 students had graduated with a Bachelors of Arts in Public Health (BAPH) degree from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa
Summary
Public health has never been more important than during this troubling time of both pandemic and health infodemic. The State of Hawai‘i has been short of healthcare workers perennially, those trained in public health. The demand is anticipated to increase over the 5 years [2] as the state attempts to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Other potential drivers of the demand include family and financial considerations (e.g., high cost of living, non-competitive salaries, and high debt burden). Challenges in the educational pipeline (e.g., retiring workforce and insufficient local training) have been noted consistently [3, 4]. The need for both specialist (e.g., MPH) and generalist (BA) graduates is apparent as public health is increasingly promoted in schools, communities, and other places aside from the clinical setting
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