Browse Research Publications

  • In 2004, a small rural hospital in California received a grant for the implementation of an integrated IT system. As part of the grant, the hospital worked with a university team to evaluate the implementation. The evaluation plan emphasized quantitative analysis of medication errors, patient...
  • An increasing number of hospitals are implementing electronic medical records and other information technology (IT), and national policy is focused on fostering expansion of these systems. In September 2004, a 100-bed acute care hospital in a rural community was awarded a grant to implement and...
  • The study examined health career programs for the state’s pipeline of secondary students. It revealed a broad range of program structures, including academy models, Regional Occupational Centers and Programs, magnets and stand-alone health professions high schools. Key barriers to making these...
  • The trend of increasing demand for health -- and especially allied health workers -- in CA is projected to continue. This presentation takes a closer look at the data as related to employment, income, and educational opportunities. 
  • Physician supply in the U.S. is again on the national health policy agenda. A central issue in this debate is the availability of physicians willing to work in underserved and disadvantaged communities-an issue closely linked to the number of minority and international medical graduate (IMG)...
  • Driven by the aging population and the efficacy of drug therapy in the management of chronic disease, the increased use of pharmaceutical products has become the fastest growing, most dynamic part of the health care system. This issue brief finds the pharmacy safety net facing a looming crisis. The...
  • Californians speak a multitude of languages. In 2000, California ranked first in the U.S. in percent of the population speaking English less than “very well”. With 20% of the general population and 25% of school-age children of limited English proficiency, concerns are rising that many Californians...
  • The National Center for Health Workforce Analysis of the Bureau of Health Professions in the Health Research and Services Administration commissioned the New York Center for Health Workforce Studies at the SUNY School of Public Health to conduct a study of the public health workforce. The study...
  • Public health nursing (PHN) practice is defined by an emphasis on population health issues rather than individually focused clinical interventions, but the actual scope and focus of PHN practice have not been well documented. The purpose of this survey was to investigate the practice activities,...
  • A number of federal and state laws address the need to provide health care in a language that the patient understands. This two-page overview of major California and Federal lists requirements for health care providers to provide language assistance to patients who require these services. The...
  • California has a considerable and increasing need for interpretive services in health care. Currently one in every five Californians, over 6 million people, qualify as Limited English Proficient (LEP) and could be expected to benefit directly from improved interpretive services and the attendant...
  • This report provides data on the demographics of the PHN workforce in five counties in California; the educational preparation of the PHN workforce; the job market and employment issues for the PHN workforce; and the scope of PHN practice. Although the study was limited to five counties, these...
  • Public health nurses (PHNs) make up the largest group of public health workers and are important health care providers for a variety of underserved populations, yet data about PHN demographics and practice are limited. This report provides data on the demographics of the PHN workforce in five...
  • Legislative calls for new methodologies to identify dentally underserved areas are an acknowledgement of the growing concern that the existing Dental Health Professional Shortage Area (DHPSA) designation criteria are outdated and ineffective. This report explores the history of DHPSAs, critiques...
  • By many measures, the practice of dentistry has improved for the dentist over the past decade. Hours of work are down, and compensation is increasing. However, there is a growing disconnect between the dominant pattern of practice of the profession and the oral health needs of the nation. To...
  • OBJECTIVES: This study estimates the supply and geographic distribution of dentists in California and examines the community characteristics associated with supply of dentists. METHODS: The number of practicing dentists was estimated from American Dental Association data on licensed dentists in...
  • For a host of complex and interrelated reasons California may not have adequate numbers of nurses with appropriate skills over the coming decades. This problem is just rising to the attention of the profession, nursing educators, and managers in the health system. Increasingly, it will affect the...
  • California and the nation now face an oral disease situation that is of a crisis nature. The situation has developed over several decades and involves a complex set of problems, institutions, attitudes and financing arrangements. For millions across California, access to oral health care services...
  • In California, approximately 4.5 million Medicaid beneficiaries are eligible for dental services, yet fewer than half (44%) utilize these services on an annual basis. While several factors may contribute to this low use of dental services, a major deterrent is finding a dentist who will accept...
  • CONTEXT: Many rural and inner-city communities in the United States have persistent shortages of health professionals. In addition, health services are increasingly delivered in community-based settings by interdisciplinary teams. Yet, health professions students in the US continue to receive most...
  • Access to dental services in California is an issue of increasing concern to federal and state policy makers, as demonstrated by both new legislation addressing access to dental care and increased funding for existing programs. Recent research has shown that many Californians do not receive regular...
  • This report provides a descriptive overview of local public health departments in California. Data are provided on the size and scope of agencies, characteristics of the population served, managed care interactions, partnerships in the community and the pressing issues for these agencies. This...
  • This fourth and final major report of the Pew Health Professions Commission comes at the end of the most dynamic decade ever faced by the nation’s health professionals. As disruptive as this period has been, however, it may only have been the prelude. The health care system in the US will continue...
  • In December 1995 the Taskforce on Health Care Workforce Regulation released their findings and recommendations in a report entitled Reforming Health Care Workforce Regulation: Policy Considerations for the 21st Century. The report put forth ten recommendations for reform and offered policy options...
  • The biomedical model has formed the foundation and defined the character of contemporary American medical practice and education. There is a growing perception, however, that the biomedical model cannot fully reflect the broad clinical realities of modern health care and that practitioners must...

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