Currently accepted at: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Mar 17, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Jun 23, 2026 - Aug 23, 2026
Date Accepted: Aug 26, 2026
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
This paper has been accepted and is currently in production.
It will appear shortly on 10.2196/95568
The final accepted version (not copyedited yet) is in this tab.
Workforce Training Needs for the Use of Artificial Intelligence in Public Health of the United States: A job analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Background:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly integrated into public health practice, creating new workforce demands. However, limited empirical evidence exists about the specific knowledge, competencies, and qualifications employers seek for AI-related roles in the public health domain in the United States.
Objective:
Objective:
This study aimed to characterize AI-related jobs in the U.S public health sector and identify employer-defined competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities) required for AI-related jobs through an analysis of job postings across major employment platforms.
Methods:
Methods:
A cross-sectional analysis of AI-related public health job postings was conducted using Indeed and Glassdoor. After removing duplicates and applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, 80 job postings were included in the final analysis. Job characteristics, employer type, educational requirements, experience, salary, work arrangements, and skill requirements were extracted and analyzed using descriptive statistics and cross-tabulations.
Results:
Results:
Management roles accounted for the largest share of postings (26%), followed by IT, data and analytics, and research positions. Healthcare providers were the leading recruiters, followed by digital health companies, academic institutions, and IT service firms. Most positions required at least a bachelor’s degree, with nearly one-quarter requiring 5–10 years of experience. Over one-third of the roles reported salaries of $140,000 or higher, and the majority were full-time positions, with hybrid work arrangements commonly offered.
Conclusions:
Conclusions:
Employer demand for AI roles in public health emphasizes leadership, analytical, and interdisciplinary competencies rather than purely technical expertise. These findings highlight the need to align public health education, workforce development, and recruitment strategies with evolving AI-related skill requirements to build a sustainable and future-ready public health workforce.
Citation
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Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.