Current Projects

Multidisciplinary

State Level Changes in Supply of Health Care Professionals. State level supply and changes in a number of different health care providers (dentists, pharmacists, physicians, and nurses) will be analyzed. This analysis will be supplemented with previous analysis of new graduates by state for pharmacy and dentistry.

Physical Therapy

NEW Workforce Trends and Issues in Physical Therapy. This project will provide an initial assessment of the Physical Therapy (PT) workforce as well as evaluate the available data regarding demand for PT services. In addition, the project will help determine emerging trends and potential directions for future research on the PT workforce. The study will also show comparisons of the occupational therapy (OT) and PT workforce, demand trends across the two professions, and workforce research needs that are synergistic or divergent.

Genetics

Development of The Illinois State Genetics Plan. Through a contract with the Illinois Department of Public Health, we recently completed the Illinois Genetic Services Needs Assessment report, which is available at http://www.uic.edu/sph/irhwc/Illinoisgeneticservicesneedsassessment.pdf The information from this needs assessment will be used in the next phase of the project, the development of a genetic services state plan for Illinois. A Steering Committee will oversee the planning process and work with the project team to plan a conference this summer. The conference will be an opportunity for a broad-based group of genetic and non-genetic health care providers, educators, public health professionals, consumers, advocates, legislative representatives, and other interested parties to participate in the development of a state genetic services plan. The conference will include break-out sessions for smaller, issue-specific work groups which will be organized around key priority areas, such as professional education, public education, financing and reimbursement, and integration of genetics in primary care. We are also planning to hold a number of community forums this fall to allow for greater participation and input into the planning process. The final plan will be completed in Spring 2007.


Nursing

Applying and Evaluating the HRSA RN supply and demand models in two Midwestern states. There is currently a significant RN shortage in the US that threatens the quality of patient care. To facilitate the prediction of future conditions in the RN market, HRSA and Lewin have created detailed models that project RN supply and demand. Yet the model has not been examined in detail at the state level. Therefore, this project examines projections of RN supply and demand from the HRSA model using updated and detailed state specific data from Illinois and Iowa as model inputs. Also, this project examines the projections in Illinois and Iowa and in regions in the state relative to state specific RN supply surveys.

Occupational Therapy

A National Agenda for Occupational Therapy Workforce Research. The OT profession has experienced a volatile job market, periods of high demand and a precipitous drop in the last decade. Furthermore, the demand for rehabilitative services will continue to grow due to population demographics, higher numbers of injuries, job rehabilitation needs and expansion in the types of conditions treated by OTs. Since our Center has conducted several studies on this workforce and through discussions with leaders in the profession, we have identified a real need to develop a research agenda. This project will study and document the process to develop a workforce research agenda for the occupational therapy workforce, that includes the services provided and the populations served.

Recently Completed

Determinants of New Physician Practice Location Choice. This study seeks to examine:(1) how local characteristics affect the probability of where new physicians choose to practice and (2) the extent to which selected characteristics (e.g., minority status, foreign medical graduates and others) are associated with differential decisions regarding location choice. Dissertation Completed.

Occupational Therapy Education Programs and Graduates: Time Trend and State Level Analysis During a Period of Job Market Volatility. This project will characterize the changes in the numbers of occupational therapy educational programs and graduates over a dynamic time period where demand for graduates accelerated then dropped precipitously (1991 through 2001). This study will describe the state and regional distribution of educational programs and graduates for the years 2000/2001. Reports are being written.

The National Pharmacist Shortage: Understanding State Level Changes in Supply. Despite recent research, little remains known about state level supply, or changes in supply across time in the market for pharmacists. However, many policy decisions regarding the pharmacist labor market are made at the state level. This study analyzes state level changes in supply in the number of pharmacists using Census data and previous analyses of new graduates by state. Journal Article Submitted.