About Us |
Leadership |
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Established in 2013, the George Washington University (GW) Health Workforce Research Center (HWRC), part of the Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, conducts workforce studies on emerging health workforce issues. The center’s research portfolio examines how new payment and delivery models, patient centered medical homes, team-based care, telehealth, National Health Service Corps, and other emerging care management strategies impact access and quality of care for rural and underserved populations.
We are committed to advancing the science of workforce analysis by 1) developing cutting edge research methods for documenting how workforce staffing configurations impact patient satisfaction and health outcomes, 2) employing innovative uses of available datasets to identify the workforce caring for patients living in health professional shortage areas, 3) publishing a portfolio of peer-reviewed publications that build off of each other to identify policies for improving care for vulnerable and underserved populations, and 4) training the next generation of health workforce researchers to carry the work forward into the future. |
Director: Patricia Pittman, PhD
Deputy Director: Clese Erikson, MPAff |
Current Research Studies |
COVID-19 Primary Care Workforce AttritioN
Quarantine, illness, and practice closure are essential to understand their effects on healthcare workers. The health, well-being, and employment of workers will be important outcomes to track for COVID-19. However, attrition of the primary care workforce has important implications for health care access and is the focus of this study. The loss of active primary care providers in communities can limit access for COVID-19 care and other essential primary care services, affecting short and long-term health outcomes. Finally, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected minority populations in the U.S.[i] Loss of primary care access will only further exacerbate these disparities, and it is crucial to examine the disproportionate impact of primary care workforce loss and service limitations for underserved communities.
[i] CDC. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (June 2, 2020). Accessed June 2, 2020. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html.
Key Questions:
Study Team: Candice Chen, Eric Luo, Anushree Vichare, Clese Erikson
For questions about this study, contact Patricia Pittman at cpchen@gwu.edu.
[i] CDC. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (June 2, 2020). Accessed June 2, 2020. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html.
Key Questions:
- What was the loss of primary care providers during COVID-19?
- How did primary care provider attrition vary based on provider and population characteristics?
Study Team: Candice Chen, Eric Luo, Anushree Vichare, Clese Erikson
For questions about this study, contact Patricia Pittman at cpchen@gwu.edu.
Emergency Health Workforce Policies During COVID-19
Faced with 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, and the unprecedented uncertainties concerning the country’s health workforce preparedness to address the surge in patient demand, states, and the Federal government issued a wide range of emergency policies that aimed to increase the availability of the health workforce and ensure maximum flexibility in their deployment. These policies included Executive Orders issued by State Governors, as well as CMS waivers that made payment policies more flexible.
The purpose of this study is to document the range of emergency health workforce policies and public payment waivers issued in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to begin to understand their perceived impact on specific health professions, in specific settings, by specific stakeholders. Once these policies and stakeholder reactions are mapped, we propose to follow up in the fiscal year 2021-2022 cycle with the second phase of this study that would assess which policies modified the supply of clinicians and their practice patterns.
Key Questions:
Study Team: Patricia Pittman, Julia Strasser, Meg Ziemann
For questions about this study, contact Patricia Pittman at ppittman@gwu.edu.
The purpose of this study is to document the range of emergency health workforce policies and public payment waivers issued in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency and to begin to understand their perceived impact on specific health professions, in specific settings, by specific stakeholders. Once these policies and stakeholder reactions are mapped, we propose to follow up in the fiscal year 2021-2022 cycle with the second phase of this study that would assess which policies modified the supply of clinicians and their practice patterns.
Key Questions:
- What are the state emergency health workforce policies and payment waivers designed to address the workforce challenges of COVID-19 in the current policy landscape? (GW)
- Which policies do key stakeholders consider the most effective and therefore merit continuation post-pandemic? (SUNY)
Study Team: Patricia Pittman, Julia Strasser, Meg Ziemann
For questions about this study, contact Patricia Pittman at ppittman@gwu.edu.
How is Consumer Access to Care Changing During COVID-19?
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, accessing care can be challenging and risky, given social distancing restrictions and concerns about exposure to the virus. This study will examine the extent to which consumers are experiencing increased difficulty with accessing care when needed during the pandemic with a specific focus on how COVID-19 is affecting underserved populations.
Key Questions:
Study Team: Clese Erikson, Yoon Park
For questions about this study, contact Candice Chen at cerikson@gwu.edu.
Key Questions:
- Are underserved populations experiencing more significant challenges with accessing care during COVID-19 compared to before?
- What barriers did patients experience when trying to access care during the pandemic?
- Did telehealth use increase at the same rate across all populations during the pandemic?
Study Team: Clese Erikson, Yoon Park
For questions about this study, contact Candice Chen at cerikson@gwu.edu.
Meeting the Needs of Patients with Limited English Proficiency in Community Health Centers
Providing high-quality and equitable care is central to the mission of community health centers (CHCs). For CHCs that serve non-English speaking patients, this includes ensuring that patients, clinicians, and staff have access to effective language services (LS) such as on-site professional interpreters, bilingual clinicians and staff, off-site telephone or video interpretations, and translation of documents.
The purpose of this study is to assess the availability and use of language services in CHCs. About one in five health center patients indicate a preference to receive care in a language other than English, which means that over 5.8 million patients, collectively visiting health centers approximately 19 million times over a year, may require the use of an interpreter or some other LS.
Key Questions:
The proposed mixed methods study will address the following research questions:
Study Team: Marsha Regenstein, Maddie Krips
For questions about this study, contact Marsha Regenstein at marshar@gwu.edu.
The purpose of this study is to assess the availability and use of language services in CHCs. About one in five health center patients indicate a preference to receive care in a language other than English, which means that over 5.8 million patients, collectively visiting health centers approximately 19 million times over a year, may require the use of an interpreter or some other LS.
Key Questions:
The proposed mixed methods study will address the following research questions:
- How has the use of interpreters in CHCs changed over the period 2009 to 2019?
- In what ways are CHCs providing LS to their patients?
Study Team: Marsha Regenstein, Maddie Krips
For questions about this study, contact Marsha Regenstein at marshar@gwu.edu.
Tracking Changes in Telehealth use at CHCs During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers, including community health centers (CHCs), are rescheduling non-urgent care and exploring options for increasing the use of telehealth to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. This study will examine the extent to which CHCs are offering telehealth visits as an option for maintaining services during the pandemic.
Key Questions:
For questions about this study, contact Candice Chen at cerikson@gwu.edu.
Key Questions:
- For which services has monthly CHC visit volume changed during the COVID-19 pandemic?
- To what extent has the use of telehealth at CHCs increased across service lines, including prevention, mental health, substance use disorder, and dentistry?
- What are CHC characteristics associated with higher total visit volume and the use of telehealth?
For questions about this study, contact Candice Chen at cerikson@gwu.edu.
The Medicaid Workforce Tracker
This study aims to identify the health workforce serving the Medicaid population – acceptance (yes/no) and amount of service, and examine variation in service based on provider profession and specialty. The goal of this initial analysis is additional studies examining the patient, provider, and policy characteristics associated with provider Medicaid service, as well as, the development of a Medicaid Tracker tool that allows users to explore the characteristics of the Medicaid providers in their communities (e.g., county-level characteristics and outcomes).
Key Questions:
Study Team: Candice Chen, Eric Luo
For questions about this study, contact Candice Chen at cpchen@gwu.edu.
Key Questions:
- Who provides health care services to the Medicaid population (yes/no)?
- What amount of service do they provide to the Medicaid population?
- What is the variation in service provided to the Medicaid population by provider profession and specialty?
Study Team: Candice Chen, Eric Luo
For questions about this study, contact Candice Chen at cpchen@gwu.edu.
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Disclaimer
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These projects are supported by the Bureau of Health Workforce (BHW), National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (NCHWA), Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of an award totaling $450,000, with zero percent financed with non-governmental sources. The contents are those of the author[s] and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.