Works in Progress…
A Study of the Roles and Use of Licensed Social Workers in the United States
The Center, under a contract with the National Association of Social Workers, is conducting a national survey of licensed social workers to obtain information about their characteristics, education, job settings, work activities, services to clients, and workplace issues. Special sections of the survey instrument ask about services for older adults and children and families.
This study, scheduled for completion in late 2005, will document the wide range of services provided to the public by licensed social workers. It will clarify the roles social workers play in the health care system and other settings, and help policy makers and stakeholders to understand the important services that social workers provide to patients and clients.
The Emergency Care Workforce
As part of a broader study on the Future of Emergency Care in the U.S. Health System, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) has commissioned the Center to prepare a paper on the emergency care workforce. This paper, which is currently under development, reviews the current composition of the workforce in emergency care in the country; describes the educational backgrounds and relevant experience of the physicians, nurses, physician assistants, emergency medical technicians, and other providers of emergency care; and examines a wide range of workforce issues. The IOM expects to release its full report in 2005.
Assessing Physician Knowledge, Attitudes and Practice Patterns Related to Tobacco and Smoking Cessation
The Center, in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), will be conducting a national study to assess what physicians know about smoking cessation and what strategies and treatment options they use with their patients who smoke. An important part of the study is a survey of a national sample of physicians in the U.S. The study, scheduled for completion in February 2006, is funded by a grant from the American Legacy Foundation awarded to AAMC’s Center for Workforce Studies.
Development of a Comprehensive Method for Identifying Facilities with Nursing Shortages
The Center has been awarded funding by HRSA’s Bureau of Health Professions to conduct a two-year study to research the components necessary for a comprehensive, national methodology for identifying health care facilities and agencies with critical shortages of RNs in all 50 states and US territories. Designated facilities and agencies will be eligible for the placement of federally obligated RN scholars and loan repayers. The study is scheduled for completion in 2006.
Trends in Registered Nursing Education in New York State
To better understand trends affecting the supply of registered nurses in New York State, the Center annually surveys registered nursing education programs in the state. The one page fax-back survey includes questions on applications, acceptances and graduations. The 2004 survey is currently underway and a report of findings will be available in 2005.
Update on the Allergy and Immunology Physician Workforce
The Center, with funding from the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, is currently conducting a survey of all allergy and immunology physicians in the United States. The information collected through the survey will be used to update the Center’s previous assessment of the supply, demand and distribution of allergy and immunology physicians developed in 1999. The survey effort will be completed by the end of 2004, with a comprehensive report expected in the second half of 2005.
Just RELEASED
HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles Updates
The Center for Health Workforce Studies recently completed an update of the State Health Workforce Profiles for the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
The Profiles updates provide an extensive collection of the most up-to-date data available on the health workforce in each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, enabling users to access a wide array of data on the supply, demand, distribution and characteristics of over 30 health professions, as well as information on each state’s population and health care infrastructure.
Two page Profile summaries and more information about individual Profiles can be found on HRSA’s website: bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/default.htm.
A Legal Practice Environment Index for Nursing Home Administrators in the Fifty States
Nursing home administrators are professionals who play key roles in determining the quality of care in long-term care settings. Although states have been required to license nursing home administrators since 1967, there has never been a systematic review of the specific licensing criteria in all fifty states.
This study, supported by The Commonwealth Fund, included a systematic review and classification of licensing requirements for nursing home administrator in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia as of 2002. A standard numerical index was developed to permit easy comparisons across states. The study found significant variation in these requirements across the states. This study was designed to support further research that assesses the impact of nursing home administrator licensure requirements on nursing home outcomes and performance. The full report of the study can be found at: www.nabweb.info/Home/main.aspx?ID=62.
The Professional Practice Environment of Dental Hygienists in the Fifty States and the District of Columbia, 2001
To better understand the changing role of dental hygienists in the oral health care system and the impact of these changes on access to oral health care, the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis in the Health Resources and Services Administration ‘s Bureau of Health Professions commissioned the Center to conduct a study to develop a professional practice index for the dental hygiene profession, summarizing the legal practice environment for the profession in each of the 50 States and the District of Columbia as of 2001. The study considered the extent to which the professional practice environment was related to numbers of practitioners, selected characteristics of practitioners, oral health outcomes, and utilization of oral health services and assessed the impact of dental hygienists on access to care for underserved populations. The full report can be found on HRSA’s website:
bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/hygienists/dh1.htm#execsum.
Tell us what you think…
We’d like to hear from you. Please give us feedback on our website or any of the reports or information we have posted to it. E-mail us at chws@health.state.ny.us.