F.9. Scientific session: Implementing digital and AI skills in public health education and the health workforce
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Digital transformation (DT) is already reshaping public health practice worldwide, affecting surveillance, prevention, communication, and system governance. To realise their potential for addressing health inequities, climate-sensitive risks, and cross-border threats, the public health workforce must acquire competencies to design, deploy, govern, evaluate, and critique these technologies. While digital and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-related competencies are increasingly well defined, their translation into education and workforce training remains fragmented, context-dependent, and insufficiently evaluated. This session addresses a central implementation gap: how can established competency frameworks be translated into effective, equitable, and scalable workforce readiness across diverse public health settings? The five contributions approach this question from complementary angles and together provide a coherent picture of current challenges and emerging solutions. A European Delphi study consolidates a comprehensive set of digital public health and AI competencies, offering a structured reference point for workforce education. Empirical evidence from nursing indicates that digital competence and AI readiness are shaped more by workplace exposure and role-specific demands than by formal characteristics. Analyses of an ageing healthcare workforce highlight persistent inequalities in digital literacy across sociodemographic and regional contexts, highlighting the risk of reinforcing existing disparities through DT. A practice-based training intervention in Italy illustrates how hands-on, context-adapted approaches can address the gap between positive attitudes towards AI and limited operational skills. Finally, global data from infection prevention and control professionals show that a lack of competencies remains a primary barrier to the uptake of digital tools despite high perceived usefulness. The added value of the session lies in integrating empirical findings across settings and workforce groups. It brings together perspectives on defining competencies, understanding how they are shaped in practice, identifying where implementation fails, and highlighting approaches with potential for scaling. As the session frames digital competency development as a systemic issue, it operates at the intersection of education, workforce structures, and organisational contexts. The workshop is particularly relevant for public health professionals involved in curriculum design, workforce development, and DT strategies. Participants will gain a structured overview of current evidence. They will identify common barriers and enabling factors across settings. They will also take away concrete considerations for integrating digital and AI competencies into curricula, training programmes, and organisational strategies. These approaches are designed to be context-sensitive and to avoid exacerbating existing inequalities. Key messages • Digital and AI competencies in public health are well defined, but their implementation in education and workforce training remains fragmented and insufficient. • Effective digital transformation requires context-sensitive and inclusive training approaches to avoid reinforcing existing workforce and health inequalities.
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,181
OpenAlex ID: W7223673225