Health Workforce Studies

Contact information:

Bianca Frogner, PhD
bfrogner@uw.edu

Sue Skillman, MS
skillman@uw.edu

Research Team:

Holly Andrilla, Arati Dahal, Ben Dunlap, Bianca Frogner, Lisa Garberson, Paula Kett, Natalia Oster, Davis Patterson, Samantha Pollack, Sue Skillman, Benjamin Stubbs, Sara Woolcock

 

Summary 

The health workforce is the backbone of any health care delivery system. Our research group houses four federally funded centers conducting quality research necessary to develop a strong and quality health workforce in the US:  

1) Center for Health Workforce Studies (CHWS),  

2) WWAMI Rural Health Research Center (WWAMI RHRC), and  

3) The Collaborative for Rural Primary care Research, Education, and Practice (Rural PREP).  

In addition, our group conducts collaborative research with other organizations across the nation on topics such as enhancing primary care training, workforce shortages, models of team-based care, allied health professions, behavioral health workforce, and workforce diversity. Our group also provides technical assistance to governmental agencies involved in workforce planning.   

Selected Current Projects 

  • CHWS Health Workforce Research Center on Allied Health 
    • COVID’s Effect on Leveraging Public Data to Track the Allied Health Workforce
    • Examining Local Public Health Workforce Capacity and Challenges in Addressing Population Health Needs
    • Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Community Pharmacist Patient Care and Future Workforce Needs
    • System Level Supports and Barriers Home Care Workers Face During the COVID-19 Pandemic 
  • CHWS Health Workforce Research Center on Health Equity 
    • Burnout and Stress Among Medical and Health Professional Program Faculty 
    • Gender-Based Wage Gaps Among Health Care Workers: Is There a Spillover Effect?
    • State Support for Community College and Diversity in Health Professions Programs 
    • The Impact of Health Resources on COVID-19 Mortality in Rural and Urban U.S. Communities 
  • Rural PREP 
    • Are Family Physicians Trained in Small Rural Residencies of Comparable Quality to Family Physicians Overall? 
    • Routes to Rural Readiness: Enhancing Clinical Training Experiences for Physician Assistants 
  • Washington State Oral Health Workforce Surveillance 
  • Washington State Sentinel Network  
  • WWAMI RHRC 
    • The Distribution of the General Surgery Workforce in Rural America: 2020 
    • What Is the Geographic Distribution of the Workforce with a DEA Waiver to Prescribe Buprenorphine?