by Guest Author | Feb 18, 2025 | Data, Policy
Retention of medical students and residents is crucial to ensuring a strong physician workforce. This report examines retention within Indiana’s medical education pipeline between 2019 and 2024, challenges faced by residency program directors, trends in physician workforce capacity at Indiana hospitals, and existing initiatives supporting medical education and training in Indiana.
This work was completed in collaboration with the Indiana Department of Health. It is our hope that this report can inform discussions and policies targeting medical education in Indiana.
Read and download the project summary report below or find the full report here.
by Guest Author | Feb 10, 2025 | Playbook, Policy
In 2023, a significant number of Indiana’s youth faced severe mental health challenges. Nearly half of high school students reported experiencing depression, and a quarter of them had gone as far as developing a plan for suicide. This highlights the urgent need for mental health support and intervention among young people in the state.
Issues with access to care are widespread. In 2024, more than 65% of Indiana adolescents with depression were unable to access care. All of Indiana’s 92 counties contain a federally designated mental health workforce shortage. Without sufficient capacity to address concerning mental health issues, children and youth run the risk of falling through the cracks. Schools are uniquely positioned to support overall student well-being because they serve as a consistent point of access within their communities. Indiana law requires schools provide several services intended to support the mental, emotional, and behavioral health and wellness of students including student assistance services.
These services are required to be provided by professionals licensed by the Indiana Department of Education (DOE), including school counselors, school social workers, and school psychologists. While schools are authorized in statute to support students’ emotional and behavioral health, anecdotal reports indicate difficulties with school-based behavioral health workforce capacity.
Currently, state level data is limited and does not include information related to services. More information is needed to support and elevate these integral workers. Recognizing this gap in necessary information, the DOE, with support from Indiana Department of Health, administered a pulse check survey to school counselors, social workers, and psychologists. Findings from this pulse check are included here, as well as recommendations for next steps.
Download the full PDF of the report here or check out the interactive version below (PDF also follows the interactive version below).
See the full report with our findings in the PDF below:
by Guest Author | Feb 4, 2025 | Data, Presentations
The Bowen Center’s Assistant Director for Data and Research Sierra Vaughn recently spoke in a panel of experts on the intersection of addiction and policy. This was part of a webinar titled Reflections and Insight on Response to a Public Health Crisis: The Addictions Grand Challenge.
In her section of the panel she briefly outlined the various aspects of Bowen’s data-related work that intersects with addiction, addiction counseling, and behavioral health, providing a quick overview of the data landscape in Indiana on this critically important topic. The entire presentation is worth a watch, featuring contributions from several experts in the field.
Click here to watch the webinar on an external site (this link is timestamped to Sierra’s contribution).
Or you can watch the entire webinar below. (Sierra’s section begins at around the 26:33 minute mark).
by Guest Author | Jan 29, 2025 | Policy
The Bowen Center recently analyzed state and national trends to examine whether Indiana faces a shortage of Licensed Practical Nurses now and into the future.
Check out the findings below:
You can also read or download the above in PDF form here:
by Guest Author | Jan 29, 2025 | Policy
Certified Nursing Aide Regulation
Certified Nurse Aides (CNAs) are regulated by state-level agencies. All states require CNAs to complete state-approved training and pass a state exam in order to be registered with the state. The specific agency(ies) involved in CNA regulation varies by state.
The Bowen Center completed a 50-state scan of state approaches to CNA regulation. We reviewed existing summaries from 2022 and 2024, and explored current statutes and administrative codes to categorize state approaches to regulation as being led by the nursing board, occupational regulatory agency, health agency, or a combination. The map below shows the results of the scan.
Read or download the above blog post in PDF form here:
