JPHMP Direct

PHAB is pleased to announce the release of the Refreshed Standards & Measures (2026)—a significant step forward in strengthening and modernizing the public health Accreditation process. Building on a strong foundation, this refresh reflects a focused effort to enhance clarity, increase flexibility, and reduce documentation burden, while maintaining the rigor and integrity of Accreditation. Access the informational webinar recording and resources.

Rural health systems are operating under sustained pressures, including workforce shortages, thin margins, limited resources, fragmented services, increased utilization and safety net needs, and widening care gaps. Addressing these complex issues requires practical, scalable solutions that strengthen systems, improve coordination, and expand access to care.

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) programs are designed to prepare graduates to become leaders in public health, tackling real-world challenges, and improving the health of the communities they serve. Programs cover an expansive array of subjects such as epidemiology, biostatistics, health policy and equity, leadership, environmental health, women’s health, implementation science and more.

Science has been under sustained pressure for some time. Some impacts are visible: halted public health initiatives, disrupted clinical trials, declining vaccination rates, and the resurgence of preventable disease. Others are less immediately apparent but no less consequential. One of these quieter crises is unfolding within scientific publishing. The traditional publishing model is already under strain.

Welcoming New & Recently Appointed Editorial Board Members The Journal of Public Health Management and Practice (JPHMP) is pleased to welcome several new and recently appointed Editorial Board members. These leaders bring deep expertise across public health practice, policy, evaluation, and communication, and will play an important role in advancing the journal’s mission to bridge research and real-world public health implementation.

In 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG), a historic investment in the public health workforce, foundational capabilities, and data modernization. CDC funded 107 state, local, and territory and freely associated state (TFAS) health departments to improve their core public health infrastructure. Many recipients have used their funding to strengthen their Accreditation or Reaccreditation activities.

JPHMP Editor-in-chief Lloyd Novick speaks with Kristina Y. Risley and Christina R. Welter about best practices for enacting change at different levels while describing the factors, processes, skills, and tools required for leading complex change. We live in an increasingly complex world. Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, deepening racial, health, and social inequities have only accentuated this complexity.

“We’re pushing all the chips into the middle of the table, and we don’t have strong cards… We’ve just had one of the worst pandemics in our history, and we are rolling back public health authority. It’s one of the worst decisions we could possibly make.” ~ Brian C. Castrucci, DrPH, MA In this episode of the Editor’s Podcast, I speak with Brian Castrucci, CEO and president of the de Beaumont Foundation, about newly released data from the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PHWINS).

In this episode of JPHMP Direct TALK, guests Dr. Juliet Iwelunmor, Dr. Ucheoma Nwaozuru, and Ms. Alexis Engelhart describe a new public health literary journal called LIGHT that aims to center the public in public health. Leaders Igniting Generational Healing & Transformation (LIGHT) reimagines public health as we know it, particularly with bringing the “public” back into health.

In this episode of JPHMP Direct TALK, Dr. Gulzar Shah talks to Dr. Beth Seltzer and Dr. Heather Krasna about the many career paths available in the field of public health. In the wake of COVID-19, the general awareness of public health is greater than it has been in decades, and so is the interest in building meaningful careers in the field.