Public Health Leaders Make an Impact Well Beyond Cold and Flu Season

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From addressing health disparities to workplace safety, you can make a difference with a career in public health

Does it seem like everyone around you is suffering from sniffles or battling a cough that will not quit? Or maybe it’s not them, but you and your scratchy throat. Whatever the symptom, welcome to prime cold and flu season. While we can all take precautions to avoid getting sick, there is a group of professionals whose work helps all of us stay healthy.

Public health professionals range from health education specialists to policy makers. They work in nonprofit agencies, businesses, academic institutions, town and city departments and governmental organizations.

Through education and research-based recommendations, public health leaders create, propose and implement policies and practices to keep others healthy. For instance, these leaders can help communities address an influenza surge, manage a pandemic, understand new health findings and protect workers from injuries and illness. More broadly, they provide guidance to municipal and federal leaders to create policies and laws that keep people and communities safe.

If you want to step into a crucial role that has a significant impact on the quality of people’s lives today, tomorrow and in the future, earning a master’s in public health can give you the tools, expertise, knowledge and skills to help create thriving communities.

What are the benefits of earning a master’s degree in public health?

With a master’s degree in public health, you gain research and leadership skills to use across a variety of industries and settings. You also can specialize in areas such as health policy, health education, epidemiology and biostatistics. In Sacred Heart University’s Master of Public Health program, you make a real impact outside the classroom as you collaborate with community partners. There, you will address real-world public health issues, including social justice and equal access to health care.

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What are the skills needed to be an effective public health leader?

In a master’s program for public health, you learn skills to achieve successful health outcomes, such as how to:

  • Understand the social and behavioral determinants of disease to establish best practices for health promotion
  • Track disease outbreaks and establish vaccine policies
  • Advocate for federal, state and local laws that keep people safe
  • Set safety standards that protect workers, students and residents in a variety of businesses, institutions and agencies
  • Collaborate with partners to create initiatives and intervention plans that address common situations, including chronic illnesses or crises, such as a foodborne illness outbreak

Where are public health leaders most needed and is the field growing?

Public health specialists are focused on tracking health threats across a population rather than patient by patient, which means they are needed in communities large and small around the world. And their impact is far-reaching wherever they serve, as their work in one community can have impacts across the world. A recent report found that about 80,000 more full-time public health jobs need to be filled throughout U.S. public health agencies to provide basic public health services.

Some jobs in the public health field include:

  • Epidemiologist
  • Biostatistician
  • Public health director
  • Health education specialist
  • Safety and occupational health specialist
  • Clinical trial coordinator
  • Technical/science writer
  • Medical and health service manager
  • Medical or data scientist
  • Survey researcher

Employment opportunities for those in public health jobs are expected to grow much faster than most other occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For instance, job growth for medical and health service managers is expected to grow 29 percent through 2033, and the average salary in 2023 was $110,680.

Interested in learning more about SHU’s Master of Public Health program?

You could earn your degree in one to three years and be prepared to change lives and impact health on a broad scale. Through the program, you’ll learn transferable skills that can be used for many situations from health policy to job safety, as well as disaster relief. You can prepare for roles in management or administration or specialize in certain areas, such as policy and education.

You’ll learn how to design, implement, evaluate and analyze public health initiatives and campaigns that improve and promote better health across diverse populations.

With a curriculum grounded in community health and social justice, you can engage in long-term projects, internships or co-ops with community partners and enhance the health of local communities, even as you develop industry-recognized credentials. You also may be eligible for scholarship support.

The program’s faculty, who are nationally recognized scholars and have close ties to local and national health partners, guide and instruct students in building skills for program planning and management, policy development and advocacy, public health and science communication, leadership and others. Students in the MPH program previously worked with groups such as Fairfield CARES Community Coalition, the VA Connecticut Healthcare System and municipal health departments.

For more information about Sacred Heart University’s MPH program, schedule a meeting with Cristen Meehl, or reach out at meehlc@sacredheart.edu or 203-416-3031.

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