CPH Content Outline
The National Board of Public Health Examiners conducted a job task analysis (JTA) in 2016 to validate the knowledge tested by the CPH examination. A JTA is a carefully constructed survey used to determine the body of knowledge that a segment of a profession’s workforce needs to know to competently perform their jobs, and typically, a JTA is the basis for developing a credentialing examination. CPH Content Outline as of January 1, 2019 (PDF)
CPH Domain Areas
Click on the Domain Areas below for detailed information on what each area addresses on the exam.
This domain addresses the statistical and methodology tools that are used by public health professional to conduction data collection, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of information. It considers how measures are calculated, their limitations, and the information technology used in calculations. In addition, it addresses evidence-based concepts and theories from social and behavioral disciplines and key social and demographic factors that affect population health.
- Interpret results of statistical analyses found in public health studies or reports
- Interpret quantitative or qualitative data following current scientific standards
- Apply common statistical methods for inference
- Apply descriptive techniques commonly used to summarize public data
- Identify the limitations of research results, data sources, or existing practices and programs
- Use statistical packages or software to analyze data
- Synthesize information from multiple data systems or other sources
- Identify key sources of data for epidemiologic or other public health investigation purposes
- Calculate mortality, morbidity, and health risk factor rates
- Collect valid and reliable quantitative or qualitative data
- Use information technology for data collection, storage, and retrieval
- Illustrate how gender, race, ethnicity, and other evolving demographics affect the health of a population
- Use population health surveillance systems
- Apply evidence-based theories, concepts, and models from a range of social and behavioral disciplines in the development and evaluation of health programs, policies and interventions
This domain addresses the strategies and methods for addressing varied populations effectively, closing gaps and assuring that information is presented at an appropriate level of health literacy. It considers the process for creating ethical communication messages regarding health issues, especially concerning disparities; health needs; recommendations, and results of evaluations. Communication should facilitate team building and highlights the role of public health in health systems.
- Ensure health literacy concepts are applied in communication efforts
- Identify communication gaps
- Propose recommendations for improving communication processes
- Exercise a variety of communication strategies and methods targeting specific populations and venues to promote policies and programs
- Communicate effectively, and convey information in a manner that is easily understood by diverse audiences (e.g., including persons of limited English proficiency, those who have low literacy skills or are not literate, individuals with disabilities, and those who are deaf or hard of hearing)
- Choose communication tools and techniques to facilitate discussions and interactions
- Assess the health literacy of populations served
- Use risk communication approaches to address public health issues and problems
- Set communication goals, objectives, and priorities for a project
- Inform the public about health policies, programs, and resources
- Apply ethical considerations in developing communication plans and promotional initiatives
- Create and disseminate educational information relating to specific emerging health issues and priorities to promote policy development
- Communicate the role of public health within the overall health system (e.g., national, state, county, local government) and its impact on the individual
- Communicate with colleagues, patients, families, or communities about health disparities and health care disparities
- Communicate lessons learned to community partners or global constituencies
- Apply facilitation skills in interactions with individuals and groups
- Communicate results of population health needs and asset assessments
- Communicate with other health professionals in a responsive and responsible manner that supports a team approach to maintaining health of individuals and populations
- Provide a rationale for program proposals and evaluations to lay, professional, and policy audiences
- Communicate results of evaluation efforts
This domain addresses the identification and implementation of strategic planning concepts and approaches to guide organizational decision making, motivation and development of workers, and capacity building both within and among organizations. The processes considered include critical analysis, team building, change management, negotiation, performance management, and continuous improvement.
- Utilize critical analysis to prioritize and justify actions and allocation of resources
- Apply team building skills
- Apply organizational change management concepts and skills
- Apply conflict management skills
- Implement strategies to support and improve team performance
- Apply negotiation skills
- Establish and model standards of performance and accountability
- Guide organizational decision-making and planning based on internal and external assessments
- Prepare professional development plans for self or others
- Develop strategies to motivate others for collaborative problem solving, decision-making, and evaluation
- Develop capacity-building strategies at the individual, organizational, or community level
- Communicate an organization’s mission, goals, values, and shared vision to stakeholders
- Create teams for implementing health initiatives
- Develop a mission, goals, values, and shared vision for an organization or the community in conjunction with key stakeholders
- Implement a continuous quality improvement plan
- Develop a continuous quality improvement plan
- Evaluate organizational performance in relation to strategic and defined goals
- Implement organizational strategic planning processes
- Assess organizational policies and procedures regarding working across multiple organizations
- Align organizational policies and procedures with regulatory and statutory requirements
- Maximize efficiency of programs
- Ensure that informatics principles and methods are used in the design and implementation of data systems
This domain considers the concepts and scope of ethical and legal principles and their application to the practice, research, and policy. It considers the management of conflicts of interest and concerns for health disparities, social justice, and human rights.
- Identify regulations regarding privacy, security, confidentiality (eg, personal health information, etc)
- Design strategies to ensure implementation of laws and regulations governing the scope of one’s legal authority
- Apply basic principles of ethical analysis to issues of public health research, practice, and policy
- Ensure the application of ethical principles in the collection, maintenance, use, and dissemination of data and information
- Manage potential conflicts of interest encountered by practitioners, researchers, and organizations
- Advise on the laws, regulations, policies and procedures for the ethical conduct of public health research, practice, and policy
- Identify environmental, social justice and other factors that contribute to health disparities
- Apply social justice and human rights principles when addressing community needs
This domain considers the application of evidenced=based biological concepts and their impacts on human health. It also addresses the identification of factors related to infectious and non-infectious diseases and how they affect personal and population health.
- Apply evidence-based biological concepts to inform public health laws, policies, and regulations
- Assess how biological agents affect human health
- Identify risk factors and modes of transmission for infectious diseases and how these diseases affect both personal and population health
- Identify risk factors for non-infectious diseases and how these issues affect both personal and population health
Identify community stakeholders, health professionals, and governmental agencies and develop partnerships with these organizations to address needs of individuals and populations. Establish the roles, responsibilities and action steps to manage these partnerships for shared accountability and effective performance.
- Identify opportunities to partner with health and public health professionals across sectors and related disciplines
- Identify key stakeholders
- Develop collaborative and partnership agreements with various stakeholders on specific projects
- Establish roles, responsibilities, and action steps of key stakeholders in order to meet project goals and objectives
- Engage key stakeholders in problem solving and policy development
- Access the knowledge, skills, and abilities of health professionals to ensure that policies, programs, and resources improve the public’s health
- Use knowledge of the role of public health and the roles of other health professions to appropriately address the health needs of individuals and populations
- Manage partnerships with agencies within the national, state, or local levels of government that have authority over public health situations or with specific issues, such as emergency events
- Apply relationship-building values and principles of team dynamics to plan strategies and deliver population health services
- Develop procedures for managing health partnerships
- Implement methods of shared accountability and performance measurement with multiple organizations
- Implement strategies for collaboration and partnership among diverse organizations to achieve common public health goals
- Develop strategies for collaboration and partnership among diverse organizations to achieve common public health goals
- Identify critical stakeholders for the planning, implementation and evaluation of health programs, policies and interventions
- Engage community partners in actions that promote a healthy environment and healthy behaviors
Develop evaluation plans with appropriate quantitative and qualitative methods to strengthen and enhance activities and programs and ensure that programs are implemented as intended. Evaluate personnel and material resources. Plan evidence-based interventions and implement them in relation to existing situations, needs, and socio-cultural population characteristics to impact health polices, programs, and systems.
- Develop and conduct formative evaluation plans
- Develop and conduct outcome evaluation plans
- Develop process evaluation plans
- Apply qualitative evaluation methods
- Apply quantitative evaluation methods
- Evaluate the benefits of qualitative or quantitative methods for use in evaluation
- Assess evaluation reports in relation to their quality, utility, and impact
- Assess program performance
- Utilize evaluation results to strengthen and enhance activities and programs
- Apply evidence-based practices to program planning, implementation, and evaluation
- Identify challenges to program implementation
- Ensure that program implementation occurs as intended
- Plan evidence-based interventions to meet established program goals and objectives
- Implement context-specific health interventions based upon situation analysis and organizational goals
- Design context-specific health interventions based upon situation analysis and organizational goals
- Plan and communicate steps and procedures for the planning, implementation and evaluation of health programs, policies and interventions
- Design action plans for enhancing community or population-based health
- Evaluate personnel and material resources
- Use available evidence to inform effective teamwork and team-based practices
- Prioritize individual, organizational, or community concerns and resources for health programs
- Design public health interventions that incorporate such factors as gender, race, poverty, history, migration, or culture within public health systems
- Develop a community health plan based on needs and resource assessments
- Apply evaluation frameworks to measure the performance and impact of health programs, policies, and systems
Develop, justify, and defend organizational budgets and respond to changes in financial resources. Secure, manage, and leverage financial resources through contracts and other agreements to assure program sustainability. Give constructive feedback on team performance. Develop and implement a community health plan.
- Develop program or organizational budgets with justification
- Defend a programmatic or organizational budget
- Operate programs within current and forecasted budget constraints
- Respond to changes in financial resources
- Develop proposals to secure financial support
- Participate in the development of contracts or other agreements for the provision of services
- Ensure implementation of contracts or other agreements for the provision of services
- Leverage existing resources for program management
- Identify methods for assuring health program sustainability
- Give constructive feedback to others about their performance on the team
- Develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks to assess programs
- Implement a community health plan
- Implement programs to ensure community health
Develop, promote and defend positions and polices based on scientific evidence, best practices, stakeholder input, and public opinion and identify their social and economic impact. Analyze political, social, and economic policies determining their feasibility and expected outcomes and measure system changes. Implement federal, state, and local regulations and guidelines.
- Develop positions on health issues, law, and policy
- Establish goals, timelines, funding alternatives, or partnership opportunities for influencing policy initiatives
- Defend existing health policies, programs, and resources
- Educate policy and decision makers to improve health, social justice, and equity
- Use scientific evidence, best practices, stakeholder input, or public opinion data to inform policy and program decision-making
- Assess positions of key stakeholders for health policies, programs, and resources
- Promote the adoption of health policies, programs, and resources
- Identify the social and economic impact of a health policy, program, or initiative
- Analyze political, social, and economic policies that affect health systems at the local, national, or global levels
- Measure changes in health systems (including input, processes, and output)
- Determine the feasibility and expected outcomes of policy options (e.g., health, fiscal, administrative, legal, ethical, social, political)
- Analyze policy options when designing programs
- Ensure the consistency of policy integration into organizational plans, procedures, structures, and programs
- Implement federal, state, or local regulatory programs and guidelines
Apply a social-ecological model to analyze population health issues and design needs and resource assessments that consider diverse cultural values and norms and address health disparities. Analyze the availability, acceptability, and accessibility of public health services and activities and describe the characteristics of a population-based health problem using culturally appropriate concepts to engage and empower diverse populations.
- Apply a social-ecological model to analyze population health issues
- Design needs and resource assessments for communities or populations
- Assess how the values and perspectives of diverse individuals, communities, and cultures influence individual and society health behaviors, choices, and practices
- Use culturally appropriate concepts and skills to engage and empower diverse populations
- Analyze the availability, acceptability, and accessibility of public health services and activities across diverse populations
- Address health disparities in the delivery of public health services and activities
- Conduct culturally appropriate risk and resource assessment, management, and communication with individuals and populations
- Incorporate strategies for interacting and collaborating with persons from diverse backgrounds
- Include representatives of diverse constituencies in partnerships
- Describe the characteristics of a population-based health problem, e.g. , magnitude, person, time, and place