The Health Services Research Workforce: Current Stock Health Services Researchers of 2020 Summit November 30, 2007 Jean Moore, Director Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health, SUNY at Albany

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 The Center for Health Workforce Studies Based at the School of Public Health at SUNY Albany Our mission is to provide timely, accurate data, and conduct policy-relevant research about the health workforce Our goal is to inform public policies, the health and education sectors and the public

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Research Questions How many individuals are conducting health services research? Where is their work featured? What do they look like? What do they study and how do they study it?

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Health Services Researchers Have Diverse Backgrounds Multidisciplinary or Interdisciplinary Health Services Researchers Medical Sociology Health Economics Health Policy Public Health Medicine Nursing Health Care Management

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Health Services Research Is Featured in Many Venues HSR-specific AcademyHealth membership and meeting participants HSRProj (Health Services Research Projects in Progress) Health Services Research Medical Care Not HSR-specific Peer-reviewed journals Research conferences

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 A Conservative Count of Health Services Researchers

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Beyond a Conservative Count American Society of Health Economists (ASHE) conference attendees, 2006 American Public Health Association (APHA) Annual Meeting paper and poster authors, 2007 American Sociological Association (ASA) participants in 42 health-related sessions, 2007 First three authors from original research articles in 11 health-related peer-reviewed journals

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 % Included in the Conservative Count of HSRers

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Silos or a Core? There is a small group of health services researchers whose work is featured in many different venues There are a large number of health services researchers who appear in only one place or in venues associated with only one discipline

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November Salary Survey of AcademyHealth members Provides demographic and background data 1,317 responses 38.6% Response Rate 37.1% of Membership

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Respondents by Gender, 2007

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Respondents by Age, 2002 & 2007

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Race/Ethnicity of 2007 Respondents Compared to the U.S. Population

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Ten Most Common Educational Background of Respondents, 2007

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Current Employment Setting

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Primary Job Titles of Respondents, 2007

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Median 2007 Salary by Gender and Highest Degree ($1,000s)

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Health Services Researchers Enjoy High Job Satisfaction 92.5% are satisfied with their current profession/occupation 62.9% report it is very or somewhat unlikely they would initiate a job search in the next year Relatively few respondents reported that they were “very anxious” about their job security over the next year (3%), and six in ten felt no anxiety about their job security.

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Methods: Content Analysis of 2005 HSRProj Abstracts HSRProj is a database of current health services research Most recent complete year is 2005 Research was classified based on MESH terms associated with abstracts to identify the types of services, populations, and conditions commonly studied and methods commonly used

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Common Themes in HSRProj, 2005 Top Services Studied: Medicare (8%) Primary Health Care (7%) Patient Education (6%) Mental Health Services (6%) Public Health (6%)

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Common Themes in HSRProj, 2005 Top Populations Studied: Children (15%) Women (13%) Aged (13%)

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Common Themes in HSRProj, 2005 Top Research Methods: Program Evaluation (19%) Program Development (18%) Outcome Assessment (13%) Randomized Controlled Trials (10%) Data Collection (9%) Intervention Studies (9%) Treatment Outcome Studies (8%)

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Common Themes in HSRProj, 2005 Top Conditions Studied: Neoplasms ( 10%) Obesity (7%) Substance-Related Disorders (6%) Mental Disorders (5%)

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Limitations We have only identified health services researchers from the most obvious sources We have little information on the characteristics of health services researchers in various disciplinary “silos” Our analyses may include a broader group of researchers than just health services research (e.g. those doing health policy or biological research)

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Conclusions Health services researchers are drawn from many disciplines Increasingly, health services research involves international collaborations

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Findings Health services research degree programs are an important source – but not the primary source – of health services researchers Most health services researchers are based in academic settings Program evaluation and program development are central competencies in HSR Health services research is an attractive career field for doctoral-educated researchers

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 Findings Salary disparities by gender are problematic The health services research workforce lacks diversity, with few African Americans and Hispanics It is difficult to separate the U.S. from the international HSR workforce

Center for Health Workforce Studies School of Public Health – University at Albany, SUNY, November 2007 How Can We Better Prepare the Future Health Services Research Workforce? Better understand how to bring together health services researchers from various disciplinary “silos” and from other parts of the world Collection of information on health services researchers must extend beyond current efforts More consistent monitoring of the health services research workforce