The Match Game

Community capacity to conduct population-based health improvement work is severely lacking in most parts of the country. Most of the expertise in public health resides within local and state health departments and is deployed at the community level with varying levels of success. Fortunately, there is a little known program out of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention known as the Public Health Prevention Service. This program places individuals known as “Prevention Specialists” in public health settings – both governmental and community-based – for two years. Prevention Specialists come at no cost to the participating agencies and bring Master’s level training and at least two years of public health experience, including one year at the CDC.