Mental health paraprofessionals are important for helping to provide services, reduce costs, and address workforce shortages. Different subspecialities of paraprofessionals have different certification requirements that vary greatly by state and limit their scope of practice. This report describes a study that analyzed the data on requirements to become a certified behavioral health paraprofessional in each…
View all of the research conducted by the HRSA-sponsored Health Workforce Research Centers (HWRCs) within the past year. Topics include COVID-19, telehealth, health equity, and more!ArrayReport Array August 30, 2021Array, Array, Array, Array, Array August 30, 2021
Health disparities have worsened over the last 20 years in the United States, and research has exposed the role of health care systems in contributing to these disparities. Based on race/ethnicity, sex, sexual identity, socioeconomic status, and geography, communities face disproportionately higher disparities in access, diagnosis, and treatment, ultimately resulting in adverse health outcomes. This…
The use of telebehavioral health has increased dramatically as a result of the pandemic with policymakers adjusting regulations to facilitate the delivery of telebehavioral health services. Given the increase in its use, more research is needed to understand the experiences of those receiving, delivering, and supporting telebehavioral health services. This report discusses a study that…
Despite recent research on wellbeing in medicine, much of it fails to address the broader structural factors that contribute to physician satisfaction and wellbeing. To address that gap, researchers used a novel socio-ecological framework adapted from a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine’s “systems model,” and conducted interviews with 65 attendings, residents, medical students,…
Medical students played an essential role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable populations and exacerbated inequality. Medical students should be trained to respond to public health emergencies in ways that promote health equity, but what this training should entail has yet to be…
Primary care providers are less likely to accept Medicaid compared to other kinds of insurance. The medical school a primary care provider chooses to attend has been shown to impact other elements of their practice, but the impact on Medicaid participation is not well understood. This abstract describes a study that analyzed 2016 Medicaid claims…
Medical school pathway programs have been important for helping to diversify student bodies and by extension the future health workforce. Many of these pathway programs were disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the extent of these disruptions are not well understood. This abstract describes a study that utilized an online survey and interviews with medical…
Many states have adjusted their payment regulations to support increases in the usage of telehealth during the pandemic in order to make sure that patients have access to remote care. Prior research has suggested that reimbursement parity requirements are associated with higher levels of telehealth adoption, but more research is needed to verify how such…
Demand is rising for direct care workers (including personal care aides, home health aides, and nursing assistants), but recruitment and retention challenges are widespread. While the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly exacerbated these challenges, it has also created a new labor pool of millions of workers who have been displaced from occupations with similar entry-level requirements….
