Full Citation
Title: Leveraging Data to Monitor the Allied Health Workforce: National Supply Estimates Using Different Data Sources
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2016
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Abstract: This study compared national estimates of the supply and characteristics of nine allied health occupations drawn from four publicly available national data sources, and described uses and limitations of these national data sources for health workforce planning. Design/Methods: Using the most recent data available (from 2014 to 2016) from the American Community Survey (ACS), the Current Population Survey (CPS), the Occupational Employment Statistics (OES), the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System National Provider Identifier (NPI) Registry, we compared the estimated workforce size and characteristics of nine allied health occupations: occupational therapists, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, speech-language pathologists, clinical laboratory technologists/technicians, dental hygienists, diagnostic-related technologists/technicians, medical assistants, and social workers. National supply size estimates and numbers per 100,000 population were used to compare workforce size between datasets for each occupation. Descriptive statistics were used to depict the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of individuals in these occupations. Results: National workforce supply estimates from the ACS, CPS and OES data sources for the nine selected occupations were generally comparable. Estimates based on NPI Registry data were smaller and not available for some occupations. Social workers and medical assistants were the largest groups among the occupations studied. Occupational therapists and respiratory therapists were the smallest. Speech-language pathologist and dental hygienists were predominantly female (>96%) and respiratory therapists had the highest percentage of males (34-35%). Clinical laboratory technicians/technologists and medical assistants were the most racially diverse of the occupations studied (roughly half of those who were not Hispanic were of races other than White). These occupations, along with social workers, also had larger proportions of Hispanic individuals (10-28%). Medical assistants had the lowest annual earnings ($29,000-$32,000) and physical therapists had the highest ($60,000-$86,000), although earnings were challenging to compare.
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Authors: Skillman, Susan M; Dahal, Arati; Frogner, Bianca K; Stubbs, Benjamin A
Publisher: Center for Health Workforce Studies, University of Washington
Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS
Topics: Health, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Methodology and Data Collection
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