In the Health Workforce Research Center (HWRC) on Health Equity, we work to advance our understanding of how to ensure a diverse, prepared, committed, and resilient health workforce equipped to promote health equity. We conduct research studies with the goal of informing policy and practice recommendations that support an ecosystem where health workers can thrive. This HWRC is one part of a wider portfolio of research CHWS conducts on health equity (see our list of studies).
The role of the health workforce in advancing health equity
The health workforce plays an important role in promoting health equity by delivering culturally and linguistically congruent care to enable all populations to achieve their full potential to lead healthy lives. Achieving equitable health outcomes requires a diverse workforce that reflects the community on multiple intersecting dimensions (e.g., race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, geography, socioeconomic status, disability status, language, and age). The health workforce also partners with communities to promote population health, engaging in activities such as policy development and advocacy, design and implementation of community-informed programs, and cross-sector collaboration to address the social determinants of health.
Objectives of the Health Equity Workforce Research Center:
- Conduct innovative, timely, and relevant health workforce research, including rapid response requests, examining a range of topics on health equity.
- Strengthen the evidence base for health workforce education and training, including lifelong learning that enables and empowers the health workforce with the knowledge, skills, and abilities related to SDOH to foster health equity in patient care delivery and population health promotion.
- Engage government, academic institutions, communities, health care organizations, and other interested parties in the dissemination and translation of evidence to inform policies and practices that equip the health workforce to address SDOH and foster health equity.
Occupations studied to date:
- Perinatal workforce
- Doula workforce
- Family medicine physicians
- Nurse midwives
- Public health workforce
- Insurance navigators
- Nursing workforce, including advanced practice
- Physician workforce
- Long-term care workforce
- Emergency medical services
Key areas of focus for our research include but are not limited to:
- Increasing awareness of the range of health workforce occupations, their demographics, and employment characteristics that are needed to advance equitable health outcomes.
- Identifying ways to expand job opportunities, including entry, and improve health worker experiences on the job.
- Defining and understanding training needs to support readiness of the health workforce to advance health equity
- Exploring policies and initiatives to support workforce development and placement of diverse workers to meet community need.
Funding amount: $543,300
- Y6-1: Work Conditions of Health Care Workers with Disabilities
- Y6-2: Understanding Family Physicians’ Role in Improving Access to Obstetric Services and Impacts on Community Birth Outcomes
- Y6-3: What Role Does the Public Health Workforce in ‘Maternity Care Deserts’ Play in Addressing Gaps in Care?
- Y6-4: Examining the Effect of the Pandemic on the Diversity of the RN Workforce
- Y6-5*: The Role of Public Health Nurses in Doing Health Equity Work
*denotes study with supplemental funding
Funding amount: $671,875
- Y5-1: How Has the Pandemic Affected the Racial and Ethnic Diversity of the Health Workforce?
- Y5-2: Identifying Factors that Support Local Health Department Workforce Capacity for Promoting Health Equity
- Y5-3: Does Variable Access to Perinatal Health Providers in Federally Qualified Health Centers Affect Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Birth Outcomes?
- Y5-4: Overeducated and Undervalued? Educational Attainment and Income of Immigrants in Health Occupations
- Y5-5*: Are There Inequitable Influences of the Pandemic on Career Pathways of Travel Nurses?
- Y5-6*: (Mis)Treatment of Patients with Behavioral Health Conditions by Emergency Medical Services Personnel
*denotes study with supplemental funding
- Y4-1: Gender-Based Wage Gaps Among Health Care Workers: Is There a Spillover Effect?
- Y4-2: The Impact of Health Resources on COVID-19 Mortality in Rural and Urban U.S. Communities
- Y4-3: State Support for Community College and Diversity in Health Professions Programs
- Y4-4: Burnout and Stress Among Medical and Health Professional Program Faculty
- Y3-1: Exploring Health Workforce Influence on Equitable Care Delivery and Stigmatization toward COVID-19 Positive People of Color and People with Disabilities
- Y3-2: The Role of Insurance Navigators in Mitigating the Financial and Health Risk of Unemployed Workers
- Y3-3: Doula Project 2.0: Increasing the Use of Doulas by Underserved Communities
- Y3-4: Lasting Effects of Continuing Education on the Topic of Implicit Bias in the Clinical and Learning Environment
- Y3-5*: Impact of a Course, COVID-19, Healthcare Equity, and Implicit Bias in the Clinical and Learning Environment, for Physician Assistant (PA) Preceptors and Trainees
*denotes study with supplemental funding
Funding amount: $616,390
- Y2-1: Explaining Wage Variation Across Race/Ethnicity among RNs and APRNs
- Y2-2: Best Practices in Experiential Education to Educate Health Professionals on Heath Equity
- Y2-3: The Potential Burden of Being Underrepresented in Health Professional Programs
- Y2-4: Disability Competency Training in Medical Education
- Y2-5*: Increasing Access to Doulas to Support a Diverse Population
- Y2-6*: What Types of Changes in Employment Status Have Been Most Common Among Health Care Workers as a Result of the COVID-19 Emergency?
- Y2-7*: What is Being Done to Prepare the Rural Health Workforce for COVID-19?
*denotes study with supplemental funding
Funding amount: $536,462
- Y1-1: Examining Wage Disparities by Race and Ethnicity of Healthcare Workers
- Y1-2: Implicit Race and Gender Bias, Bias Awareness, and Impact of a Course for Clinical Faculty
- Y1-3: Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Associate Degree Programs in Nursing
- Y1-4: Health Workforce in Health Equity Research: Who, What, When, Where, and How
- Y1-5*: Criminal background checks and drug testing in health workforce employment: implications for health equity?
*denotes study with supplemental funding
Each year, HRSA may request the HWRC up to four time per year to provide a rapid response to a pressing policy relevant question. We post those products that are available for the public.
- Landscape of the Health Informatics Workforce: Rapid Response Brief
- Health Workforce Issues in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) Populations
- The Birth Doula Workforce in the U.S.: Rapid Response Brief
- The Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) Workforce: Rapid Response Brief
These studies are supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This information or content and conclusions are those of the author and should not be construed as the official position or policy of, nor should any endorsements be inferred by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.