News and Notes

UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care

May 2023

Are You Attending AcademyHealth ARM in Seattle June 24-27? Join Us for a Social Hour!

Gathering with friends and colleagues always brings joy and nurtures my soul. Fresh from a recent meetup of the AWARD Network (pictured above; see story below), I’m already looking forward to another get together coming soon and I’d love to see you there!

Come mingle and network at a multi-interest group party on Saturday, June 24 from 6:00 to 8:30 PM at Pike Brewing Company. Join the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies and the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center to celebrate research excellence at the intersection of health workforce, rural health, long-term care, and nursing research. All members of the Health Workforce Interest Group, Long-Term Services and Supports Interest Group, and the Interdisciplinary Research Group on Nursing Issues are invited. This event is sponsored in part by the AWARD Network.

Spots are limited; sign up now!

-- Joanne Spetz, PhD

Director, UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care

This newsletter highlights new HWRC publications, as well as workforce-related work conducted by our team at the Institute for Health Policy Studies and Healthforce Center at UCSF, and other research partners.

Highlighted Stories

AWARD Network Hosts First In-Person Meeting

Launched in 2022 with support from the National Institute on Aging, the AWARD Network gathered in person for the first time at the American Geriatrics Society conference in Long Beach in May (see group photo above).

The Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia (AWARD) Network develops infrastructure and relationships to generate research on the health care workforce that serves people living with dementia. The network hosts trainings, webinars, and workshops, supports internships, and funds research. Check out past and upcoming events!

Researchers are invited to participate and have opportunities to serve on the leadership council and other committees. Learn more and sign up with the AWARD Network!

Defining Shortages in the Long-term Care Workforce

The United States faces a considerable shortage of workers in the long-term care sector at a time when more Americans are living longer. In the next 7 years, an estimated 73 million Americans will be aged 65 and over, equal to 21% of the population.

However, research on long-term care (LTC) workforce shortages generally lacks the specificity that could translate into policy actions and funding to address local workforce needs. In a new policy brief, HWRC’s Tim Bates and Susan A. Chapman propose approaches for defining the LTC workforce, estimating the demand for LTC services, and identifying local geographic areas. The brief describes a conceptual long-term care workforce shortage designation, similar in scope to existing Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) health professional shortage area (HPSA) designations.

Read the research brief.

Recent Publications from UCSF HWRC-LTC Investigators

Phoenix, B, Tierney, M, Chapman, S, Spetz, J. Influences on Advanced Practice Nursing Education to Prescribe Medications for Opioid Use Disorder. Nursing Outlook, 2023, 71 (3) (online March 30, 2023).

Rubio, K, Fraze, TK, Bibi, S, et al. Racial-Ethnic Composition of Primary Care Practices and Comprehensive Primary Care Plus Initiative Participation. J Gen Internal Med (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08160-0

Simpson, KR, Spetz, J, Gay, CL, Fletcher, J, Landstrom, GL, Lyndon, A. Hospital Characteristics Associated with Nurse Staffing during Labor and Birth: Inequities for the Most Vulnerable Maternity Patients. Nursing Outlook, 2023, 71 (3): (online March 31, 2023).

Zhong, J, Simpson, KR, Spetz, J, Fletcher, J, Gay, CL, Landstrom, GL, Lyndon, A. Linking Patient Safety Climate with Missed Nursing Care in Labor and Delivery Units: Findings from the LaborRNs Survey. Journal of Patient Safety, 2023, 19 (3): 166-172 (online January 18, 2023). PMID: 36728161

Recent Presentations from UCSF HWRC-LTC Investigators

Janet Coffman testified on April 17 before the California State Assembly’s Budget Committee’s Health and Human Services Subcommittee regarding California’s behavioral health workforce challenges and the importance of state funding to address these challenges.

Janet Coffman participated on May 4 in a panel presentation about the HRSA-Funded Health Workforce Research Centers at the Association of American Medical Colleges’ Health Workforce Research Conference.

Posters for three HWRC projects were presented at the American Geriatrics Society conference in Long Beach, May 3-6. Details are in the 2023 JAGS Abstract Supplement (PDF).

Alissa Bernstein Sideman and colleagues: “It made me not just give up”: Implications of participation in Alzheimer’s and Dementia Care-ECHO in primary care settings.
Joanne Spetz and colleagues: Scope of Practice Laws for Nurse Delegation and Turnover of Licensed Practical Nurses in Home Health.
Joanne Spetz and colleagues: Adult Day Health Center Ownership, Staffing, and Participant Outcomes.

About UCSF HWRC

The UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care (UCSF HWRC) is a dynamic hub of policy-oriented research and investigation, established through support from the National Center for Health Workforce Analysis in the US Bureau of Health Workforce. UCSF HWRC closely examines the health care workforce and helps shape policies to meet expanding LTC needs. Our research includes the workforce in nursing homes, home health care, adult day care, community-based settings, and home settings, and includes all LTC occupations.

Director: Joanne Spetz, PhD, FAAN

Deputy Director: Susan Chapman, PhD, RN, FAAN

Visit: https://healthworkforce.ucsf.edu/

Follow on Twitter: @u csfhwrc