Strengths and Weaknesses of Using Secondary Data for HPSA Designation: A Case Study of Washington State
Description:
This case-study will document the steps currently involved in identifying Washington state’s active primary care, dental health and mental health workforce for the purposes of defining Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs). We will quantify the extent to which each data source used in this process provides accurate information about the supply and distribution of relevant healthcare professionals, which data elements are found in each data source, and how much of those data are current and accurate. We will document the calculated supply when using each data source and highlight the resources needed to fill data gaps and accurately define workforce supply for the relevant occupations. The intended study outcomes are to estimate the level of accuracy for each of these key secondary data sources when determining primary care, dental and mental health HPSA designations.
Lead Researcher: Benjamin A. Stubbs, MPH
Contact Info: bstubbs@uw.edu
Funder:
HRSA: HWRC Allied Health
Status:
In Progress