Sociodemographic Status and Interest in Public Health Work After Medical Training in First-Year Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Abstract

Physicians engaged in public health play a critical role in advancing population health, yet this workforce remains small. This study examines sociodemographic and educational factors associated with early interest in public health careers among first-year U.S. medical students. This study analyzed baseline data from 1,136 participants in the Longitudinal Evaluation of Research Career Intentions Among U.S. Medical Students study. The data utilized were collected from January 2024 through May 2024. Participants were classified according to their intention to engage in public health work after completing medical training. Age, sex assigned at birth, sexual orientation, birth country, prior public health degree, childhood socioeconomic disadvantage, and Underrepresented in Medicine status were evaluated for associations with public health career intentions using logistic regression. All statistical analyses were done in November 2024. In this sample, 55.7% of first-year medical students reported an interest in public health after medical training. In the adjusted model, factors associated with higher odds of intending to pursue a career in public health included being female (AOR=2.14, 95% CI=1.63, 2.78), being nonheterosexual (AOR=1.44, 95% CI=1.04, 1.99), being non-U.S. born (AOR=1.45, 95% CI=1.04, 2.03), being Underrepresented in Medicine (AOR=1.38, 95% CI=1.03, 1.86), possessing a public health degree (AOR=4.04, 95% CI=1.54, 6.08), and disadvantaged childhood (AOR=2.09, 95% CI=1.28, 3.41). Interest in public health among medical students varies by sociodemographic and educational characteristics. These findings may inform future research and workforce development efforts focused on the public health physician pipeline.