ABSTRACT
Health protection specialists and practitioners protect the health of the population. This might be through protection from infectious diseases or environmental hazards, including chemical and radiation hazards, and the health protection workforce also works to ensure food safety and safety in the workplace. During the COVID-19 pandemic, their profile was high at national, regional and local levels. This chapter sets out the vision for this important public health function, then provides an overview of why the function is needed and the specific roles public health professionals undertake, the challenges and rewards of working in this area, the main employing bodies, the skills and qualifications needed by the workforce and how to enter. It concludes with two career stories from a specialist and practitioner in the field.
