Mentoring and the Public Health Workforce: A Scoping Review

This study sought to better understand mentoring in the training of the public health workforce, and to identify key issues in the conceptualization and application of mentoring and its potential relevance to public health. Methods entailed a scoping review of literature in Medline, CINAHL, and Web of Science databases following guidelines in the PRISMA standards. A total of 1809 references between 2000 and June 2014 were identified, of which 27 met inclusion criteria. Very little research on the topic has been published. The main thematic areas were the models used in mentoring, the value of mentoring, mentors' and mentees' perceptions and needs, attributes of successful mentoring relationships, elements for the design and evaluation of mentoring programs, and authors’ recommendations. The main conclusion is that mentoring is a growing interest in relation to developing the public health workforce. To improve mentoring models and practices, further research should be conducted.