“Having impact, making a difference” – Ansätze zur Steigerung der Attraktivität des ÖGD als zukünftiger Arbeitgeber. Ergebnisse und Empfehlungen aus zwei bundesweiten Onlinebefragungen

In order to identify approaches to make the Public Health Service (PHS) a more attractive employer, the interest in working in the PHS among students in Germany was empirically explored for the first time in the context of the OEGD-Studisurvey. Immediately before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, two online surveys were conducted among students of PHS-related fields of study. Both surveys included questions about perceptions of the PHS, knowledge about the PHS, and approaches to increase the attractiveness of the PHS. All analyses were stratified by the field of study. Medical students showed a lower interest in working in the PHS than public health students and students of other PHS-relevant disciplines. Regardless of the field of study, knowledge about the PHS was low. Beside the perception of positive aspects, negative aspects of a structural nature were frequently perceived, especially by students with an interest in the PHS. In order to attract well-qualified people to the PHS and to retain them in the long term, it is important to emphasize the positive aspects and to take the criticism seriously. To achieve this, three approaches can be taken: (1) Strategies for long-term personnel recruitment should be competence-oriented and focus on people with a general interest in working at the PHS. (2) To ensure the necessary competencies, PHS should be anchored in all relevant fields of study, and existing training and continuing education structures should be expanded. (3) In order to strengthen the attractiveness of the PHS as an employer in the long term, modernization of administration should be carried out, and the range of tasks should be evolved in line with the mission statement of a modern PHS.