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Primary Submission Category: Health systems
Building Capacity and Community Trust: An Undergraduate Student Corps Model to Support the Public Health Workforce
Authors: Adriana Wisniewski, Josh Snodgrass, Angela Long, Jeffrey Measelle,
Presenting Author: Adriana Wisniewski*
Public health workforce shortages have emerged as a critical national challenge. In the U.S., a 10% decrease was observed from 2012 to 2019. Chronic underfunding and growing demands on public health systems have worsened these shortages, which were further exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response, in 2020, the University of Oregon, with support from Lane County Public Health (LCPH) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA), developed the “Corona Corps,” later called the Oregon Public Health Corps (OPHC). OPHC is an undergraduate student workforce program designed to support local public health response efforts while creating career pathways to public health careers for students. The program provided structured onboarding, training, supervision, and placement of students directly into applied public health roles, such as case investigation, contact tracing, resource coordination, and community outreach.
OPHC mobilized and employed over 200 students, approximately 62% from STEM backgrounds and the rest from diverse liberal arts backgrounds, to support state and local COVID-19 responses. From July 2020 to September 2021, students contributed more than 11,900 contacts in Lane County and nearly 14,000 support interactions. During the case management phase (Sept 2020 – April 2023), students supported over 2,000 individuals with over 6,000 resource referrals and follow-ups. The program has expanded to support ongoing public health priorities, such as tuberculosis exposure investigations, student-led epidemiologic research, and placements within OHA.
This model demonstrates how universities can serve as trusted partners in strengthening and expanding public health workforce capacity, while providing effective student training that produces real-world outcomes. It addresses workforce shortages and builds sustainable pipelines into public health careers.