As AI Reshapes Public Health, New Framework Gives Academic Institutions a Roadmap

June 16, 2026

(Washington, DC)- The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) today released the Artificial Intelligence Framework: Harnessing Innovation for Academic Public Health, a comprehensive roadmap designed to help schools and program of public health lead the AI-driven transformation responsibly. The new framework comes at a time when AI is rapidly reshaping public health - from disease surveillance and emergency preparedness to how students learn and conduct research - and yet few schools have comprehensive AI policies. A late-2025 audit of ASPPH's 155 member schools and programs found that just 18 member institutions (approximately 11.6%) have established formal, publicly available AI policies, pointing to a clear opportunity for the field to move forward together.

"Academic public health has successfully navigated transformative moments before- sanitation, vaccines, data modernization. AI is no different, except the speed is faster and the stakes are higher," said Laura Magaña, PhD, MS, President and CEO of ASPPH. "Schools and programs of public health must be better prepared for the coming changes. Our responsibility is to guide how AI is developed and deployed to ensure these technologies advance the field, keep equity at the center and serve the public good."

Developed by ASPPH's interdisciplinary Task Force of faculty, practitioners, students, and industry experts, the framework is organized around four focus areas:

• Education: Integrating AI literacy into public health curricula and preparing graduates for a technology-enabled workforce.

• Teaching and Learning: Promoting ethical, effective, and transparent use of AI in the classroom while maintaining academic integrity.

• Practice and Research: Leveraging AI to strengthen disease surveillance, research, emergency preparedness, and public health decision-making while preserving human oversight and public trust.

• Governance and Infrastructure: Establishing governance structures, safeguards, and accountability to guide AI adoption across institutions.

Findings and Recommendations

The Task Force also conducted research on AI adoption among ASPPH member institutions and analyzed workforce trends to identify emerging AI-related skills and competencies in public health.

Among the Task Force's findings, data shows that 70% of public health employers say software skills are the most sought after. Management positions account for 26% of AI job postings, with an additional 11% in executive management. This suggests a growing demand for "AI-literate leaders" who can manage the integration of these tools.

Based on the above data, the framework's recommendations call for embedding AI literacy into public health competencies and professional development programs, adopting human-centered AI approaches, strengthening community engagement, and addressing bias and data representation through a missing voices analysis - a structured process for identifying whose data is absent before any AI system is deployed or validated.

"AI should be a resource that supports human decision making, guided by our years of experience and expertise, rather than a tool that replaces it," said Ashish Joshi, PhD, MBBS, MPH, Task Force Chair and Dean and Distinguished University Professor of the School of Public Health at the University of Memphis. "We need to stay at the forefront of the rapidly evolving role of AI in public health, building partnerships that will allow us to share best practices, knowledge, and tools that are safe, equitable, responsible and ethical. That is how we build a resilient public health system."

The Task Force recommended that ASPPH serve as a central coordinator for institutional policy development, providing a customizable AI policy template that more than 150 member schools and institutions can adapt to their specific legal and institutional contexts.

Read the executive summary and full report here.

OTHER STATEMENTS:

May 21, 2026

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) has joined a lawsuit alongside sister organizations challenging the U.S. Department of Education's recently finalized Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) rule, which narrows the definition of "professional degree" programs for purposes of federal student loan eligibility.

May 4, 2026

The Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) expresses its disappointment in the U.S. Department of Education's (ED) final rule under the Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) initiative, which imposes stricter limits on federal graduate student borrowing and narrows the definition of "professional degree programs" in a manner that excludes public health.