ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE
very familiar, and 27% had little familiarity. Multisectoral collaboration was almost evenly divided, with slightly more than one half (54%) of respondents having a little or a lot of familiarity and 47% reporting not much or no familiarity. Lastly, the Public Health 5.0 Princi- ples were also almost evenly split, with under one half (44%) of respondents having a little or a lot of familiarity, whereas 56% reported not much or no familiarity (Table 6). Duties The job duties routinely performed by respon- dents were often broad, encompassing, and crossed specialty areas. Of the 73 responses to duties routinely performed, 22% had duties concentrated in a single area. All others (88%) had duties that spanned more than one spe- cialty within the EH field. Some respondents made qualifying statements such as, “Almost too many to name. The breadth of the EH fields and tasks in my daily/weekly [schedule] are stunning,” and “All of those mentioned.” In addition to the routinely performed tasks, a similar number of respondents (84%) reported doing tasks not considered routine, including tasks related to COVID-19. When asked about the aspects of their job they found dicult, responses included being overworked or feeling symptoms of burnout (19%), being understaed or having high turnover (15%), diculties dealing with the public (19%), issues related to COVID- 19 (12%), people being unaware of what EH professionals do (10%), dealing with manag- ers (9%), low pay (7%), regulations and the lack of consistency and enforcement (8%), being constantly interrupted and lack of pri- vate working areas (5%), and a general lack of support (3%). Over one half of respondents (53%) reported feeling moderately stressed and 31% reported feeling severely stressed. Approximately one half (47%) of respondents reported the avail- ability of work-related stress relief programs, while 44% said none existed. Further, 34% of respondents reported being helped by stress- reducing interventions, although most did not report being helped (53%).
TABLE 6
Familiarity of Environmental Health Professionals in Montana With Public Health Concepts ( n = 73)
Public Health Concept
None # (%)
Not Much # (%) 14 (19) 21 (29) 12 (17) 26 (36) 18 (25) 13 (18) 22 (30) 30 (41)
A Little # (%)
A Lot # (%)
38 (52) 33 (45) 35 (48) 20 (27) 29 (40) 34 (47) 24 (33) 26 (36)
Cross-jurisdictional sharing of public health services
7 (10) 7 (10)
14 (19) 12 (16) 24 (33)
Evidence-based public health practice Fostering a culture of quality improvement
2 (3)
Health in All Policies
20 (27) 16 (22)
7 (10)
Multisectoral collaboration Performance management Public Health 5.0 Principles
10 (14) 22 (30)
4 (5)
19 (26) 13 (18)
8 (11)
Public health and primary care integration
4 (5)
Note. Bolded values indicate the highest number and percentage for each concept.
to address issues related to the pandemic. A similar number reported that they became contact tracers, with an equal amount (15%) responsible for compliance, plan reviews, inspection, complaints, and enforcement related to COVID-19. Some respondents were transitioned to virtual inspections (8%) or remote work (11%), while others enforced mask mandates (9%), operated vaccine clin- ics (6%), reviewed social distance and viral reduction plans for businesses (8%), and/ or were liaisons to the fire authority (1%). Some respondents noted an increase in con- flict with the public (5%), loss of sta (5%), and pandemic-related complaints particu- larly from food establishments (3%). When asked if their department prepared them for these changes, 45% of respondents said yes, whereas 43% said they had no prepara- tion. Further, one quarter of the respondents (25%) felt that the added duties were distrib- uted unevenly. More than one half of respondents (52%) were still able to complete their job duties, while 39% reported that stress from the COVID-19 pandemic limited their ability to complete their job duties. Some factors that increased stress were the volume of work and feeling symptoms of burnout (40%), being short-staed (16%), hostility coming from the public (16%), personal and economic stress (16%), and limited time in the field to do work and the political environment (4% each). Of particular concern was the fallout from the
pandemic and the backlash against public health employees and scientists from the pub- lic and the legislature. One respondent stated that “COVID-19 has destroyed public health,” and another added that, “the profession lost respect, employees, and public confidence.”
Professional Preparation and Continuing Education
Less than one half of respondents (43%) reported that their education prepared or mostly prepared them for their position. Con- versely, 9% said their education did not pre- pare them for their position. Most respondents (83%) reported receiving on-the-job training and 85% reported taking classes and/or earn- ing certifications related to their position. While most respondents (92%) said they were aware of professional organizations related to their work, almost all (89%) were already members of ≥1 professional organiza- tions: 62% in MEHA and 28% in NEHA, with the remaining percentage in other organiza- tions. Except for contractors and retirees, all respondents reported that their department supported professional development in some way and the majority (97%) reported that the organizations were at least somewhat helpful as it related to their position. Job Satisfaction Despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, 92% of respondents reported being satisfied or somewhat satisfied
Practice During the COVID-19 Pandemic
In response to how their duties changed due to COVID-19, 17% of respondents reported that their routine duties were pushed aside
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Volume 86 • Number 2
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