One in five adults experience mental illness in a given year, and mental health conditions are exacerbated among minority groups. For example, the rate of depression among black youth is 30% higher than the average for their age group. Multiracial US adults are more likely to experience mental illness than adults who identify as any single race. Lesbian, gay and bisexual adults are twice as likely as heterosexual adults to experience a mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Healthforce Center at UCSF Director Sunita Mutha, MD, FACP, was featured in the UCSF Office of Research series, "Researcher of the Month." The article highlights Healthforce Center's role as the leading research organization producing information and evidence to understand the health care workforce.

By Shelley Wong

At least six states with high opioid abuse rates also have strong work restrictions that hinder nurse practitioners (NPs) in prescribing medication that can help treat the problem, according to a study by researchers at Healthforce Center and UCSF. 

Projections by Healthforce Center at UCSF demonstrate a balanced labor market of registered nurses (RNs) in California. “If there are shortages, they are regional, and they are for RNs with specific experience. We have plenty of new graduates now and projected,” said Healthforce Associate Director of Research Joanne Spetz.

California faces serious shortages in its health workforce, which makes it difficult for too many people to access the care they need. For example, in the next decade, California will face a shortfall of 4,100 primary care clinicians, will need an additional 600,000 home care workers, and will only have two-thirds of the psychiatrists we need.

Source: UCSF Nursing's Science of Caring

Source: California Health Care Foundation

We know that primary care is essential for good health, but access to primary care in California varies greatly, with large swaths of the state competing for attention from increasingly fewer doctors. The primary care shortage is complex, rooted in decisions that future doctors make long before they attend medical school, the cost of their education, where they choose to live, and the financial lure of specialty practice. First, a few facts:

By Joanne Spetz, PhD, Associate Director of Research, Healthforce Center at UCSF

Some regions of California face nursing shortages, according to new Healthforce research. Substantial shortages are projected for the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley, and Central Coast regions, while surpluses may emerge in the Sacramento and Los Angeles regions. This is the first time regional projections have been created since 2007.

Healthforce Center at UCSF Associate Director of Research Joanne Spetz, PhD, co-authored a blog in Health Affairs that includes 16 workforce recommendations for field experts, policy makers and health care leaders, to adopt to better meet the needs of an aging population and those dealing with chronic and serious illness.

The California Improvement Network (CIN), which is a project of the California Health Care Foundation and administered by Healthforce Center at UCSF, is a community of health care professionals dedicated to driving improvements in patient and provider experience and population health, while lowering the cost of care. As part of its efforts to spread better ideas for care delivery, the network finds, documents and shares innovative quality improvement projects throughout the state.