Browse Publications

Innovation Landscape — Solving Shortages: How Technology Can Help Meet California’s Immediate Health Workforce Needs

The health care safety-net system, a patchwork of programs and providers that serve Californians with low incomes, faces unique challenges in recruiting and maintaining its clinical staff due to...

Author(s): Joanne Spetz and Amy Quan
Date: November 23, 2021

Resource Brokering: Efforts to Assist Patients With Housing, Transportation, and Economic Needs in Primary Care Settings

Clinicians and policy makers are exploring the role of primary care in improving patients’ social conditions, yet little research examines strategies used in clinical settings to assist patients with...

Author(s): Taressa Fraze, Laura Beidler, Caroline Fichtenberg, Amanda Brewster and Laura Gottlieb
Date: Nov 2021

The Association of Race, Ethnicity, and Wages Among Registered Nurses in Long Term Care

This study seeks to measure wage differences between registered nurses (RNs) working in long-term care (LTC) (eg, nursing homes, home health) and non-LTC settings (eg, hospitals, ambulatory care) and...

Author(s): Laura Wagner, Timothy Bates, and Joanne Spetz
Source: Medical Care
Date: October 1, 2021

Managing the Tension Between Caring and Charting: Labor and Delivery Nurses' Experiences of the Electronic Health Record

Over a decade following the nationwide push to implement electronic health records (EHRs), the focus has shifted to addressing the cognitive burden associated with their use. Labor and delivery...

Author(s): Kirsten Wisner, Catherine Chesla, Joanne Spetz, and Audrey Lyndon
Date: Oct 2021

Dental Therapists in the United States: Health Equity, Advancing

Dental therapists (DTs) are primary care dental providers, used globally, and were introduced in the United States (US) in 2005. DTs have now been adopted in 13 states and several Tribal nations....

Author(s): Elizabeth Mertz, Aubri Kottek, Miranda Werts, Margaret Langelier, Simona Surdu, and Jean Moore
Source: Medical Care
Date: Oct 2021

Dental Public Health Post-Graduate Trainees in the US: Experiences, Challenges, and Opportunities—A Qualitative Study

The goal of this study was to explore challenges and opportunities that dental public health (DPH) residents and recent graduates experienced during and after their residency training programs in the...

Author(s): Sepideh Banava, Enihomo Obadan-Udoh, and Elizabeth Mertz
Date: September 25, 2021

It's a Human Connection: Paid Caregiving in Rural America

Personal Care Aides (PCAs) are vital to the well-being of people with disabilities yet there are shortages of these workers in many parts of the country. PCAs are employed to support people with...

Author(s): Rayna Sage, Lillie Greiman, Ari Lissau, Susan Chapman, Laura Wagner, and Kirsi Toivanen-Atilla
Date: September 17, 2021

Investing in a 21st Century Health Workforce: A Call for Accountability

The nation requires a workforce adequately sized and educated in the specialty areas needed to address the health needs of all people that practices in the places, settings, and specialties where...

Author(s): Angela Beck, Joanne Spetz, Patricia Pittman, Biance Frogner, Erin Fraher, Jean Moore, David Armstrong, and Peter Buerhaus
Date: September 15, 2021

Development of the California Oral Health Literacy Toolkit

Although many factors contribute to the high prevalence of oral health problems and widening disparities in the U.S., limited oral health literacy has emerged as a major contributor. Oral health...

Author(s): Linda Neuhauser, Anthony Eleftherion, Rebecca Freed, Rosanna Jackson, Karen Sokal-Gutierrez, Jessica Liu, Susan Ivey, Kristin Hoeft, Alice Horowitz, and Jayanth Kumar
Date: Sep 2021

Optimal Staffing Models to Care for Frail Older Adults in Primary Care And Geriatrics Practices in the U.S.

Different staffing configurations in primary and geriatric care practices could have implications for how best to deliver services that are essential for a growing population of older adults. Using...

Author(s): David Auerbach, Douglas Levy, Peter Maramaldi, Robert Dittus, Joanne Spetz, Peter Buerhaus, and Karen Donelan
Date: Sep 2021