by Guest Author | Oct 23, 2024 | Data
This October, as we celebrate National Dental Hygiene Awareness Month, the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy recognizes Indiana’s dental hygienists – the dedicated professionals who play a crucial role in preventive oral health care and patient education.
Indiana’s Dental Hygienist Snapshot:
- 96.7% of hygienists work directly in patient care
- Most provide services in dental office settings
- 83% received their education in Indiana, demonstrating strong in-state retention
- More hygienists are pursuing bachelor’s degrees than ever before
- Increasing diversity: the percentage of hygienists identifying as Hispanic, Latino(a), or Spanish origin grew from 1.6% in 2010 to 3.6% in 2022, more than doubling over twelve years
- Expanding services: hygienists provide critical preventive care including cleanings, sealants, oral cancer screenings, and tobacco cessation counseling
Despite workforce growth over the past decade, dental hygienists remain in high demand across Indiana. Dentists consistently report dental hygiene positions as their most challenging positions to fill.
Learn more about Indiana’s dental hygiene workforce through our comprehensive reports:
by Guest Author | Oct 14, 2024 | Data, Reports
Licensed pharmacists are essential spokes in the health care wheel. In addition to dispensing medication, they collaborate with other health care providers to advise on and ensure medication treatments are safe and effective, and even more. Their roles have expanded over the years, with many now offering vaccinations, health screenings, and medication therapy management services. Learn more about the many settings in which they work and the important role they play in the health care workforce below.
Data Report
This has the data, tables, and descriptive analysis that are the bedrock of the rest of the documents linked here. It’s a one-stop shop containing demographic, education, practice settings, and other information on Indiana pharmacists. The report provides a comprehensive overview of the pharmacist workforce, offering valuable insights for policymakers, educators, and health care administrators.
Brief
This is a digestible take on the Indiana pharmacist workforce and the policies that impact it. Visualizations and commentary help provide context for and insight into the data. The brief highlights key trends and changes in the workforce, making complex data accessible to a broader audience.
Diversity Report
Turning an eye toward diversity in the workforce, this looks at how diversity among Indiana’s pharmacists has changed over the years and how that compares to the state as a whole. It also highlights policies and programs that may be contributing to diversity. This report is crucial for understanding how well the pharmacist workforce represents the communities it serves and identifying areas for improvement.
Demand Brief
This shows pharmacist job growth projections through 2030 and highlights the top counties for growth. The brief provides essential information for workforce planning, helping to anticipate future needs and potential shortages in different regions of the state.
by Guest Author | Oct 8, 2024 | Data, Playbook
As we recognize Mental Health Awareness Week (Oct. 6-12), and World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10), the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy would like to highlight our ongoing efforts to analyze and strengthen Indiana’s behavioral health workforce.
Key Findings on Indiana’s Behavioral Health Workforce:
- As of 2022, Indiana had 10,503 active BHHS professionals serving Hoosiers, of which 9,449 were included in our reporting sample
- These include social workers (61.7%), mental health counselors (28.5%), marriage and family therapists (6.9%), and addiction counselors (2.9%)
- The workforce is predominantly female (83.1%), with an average age of 46.3 years
- 71.6% of BHHS professionals report providing telehealth services
- However, all 92 counties in Indiana have federally designated mental health professional shortage areas
Check out all of the data in our in-depth reports and interactive data visualization below:
To address workforce challenges, the Bowen Center recently led the development of the Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce. This comprehensive project brought together stakeholders to identify opportunities for strengthening the pipeline from education to practice for mental health professionals.
The Playbook provides recommendations in four key areas:
- Securing the Pipeline: Strategies include growing awareness of mental health careers among youth, addressing training “deserts” in underserved areas, and expanding psychiatry residencies and psychology internships.
- Strengthening Clinical Training: Recommendations focus on expanding clinical experiences, elevating the role of professional supervisors, and creating incentives for clinical training.
- Aligning Education, Policy, and Practice: The Playbook suggests creating new positions to streamline licensing processes and ensuring evidence-based practices are integrated into education and continuing training.
- Assessing School-Based Behavioral Health: Recognizing the critical need for youth mental health services, the Playbook recommends enhanced data collection on school-based behavioral health professionals.
These recommendations provide a roadmap for policymakers, educators, employers, and professionals to strengthen Indiana’s mental health workforce. It is crucial to remember that data and policy choices about mental health care in Indiana have real-life impacts for thousands of Hoosiers in their everyday lives.
Read more about the Playbook on our dedicated webpage here.
Data Visualization on the Hoosier BHHS Workforce:
by Guest Author | Oct 5, 2024 | Data
Scroll to the bottom to check out a data visualization providing a snapshot of the Physician Assistant workforce in Indiana, based on Bowen Center data
As we celebrate National Physician Assistants Week (October 6-12), we want to recognize the critical role PAs play in our healthcare system and share some key insights from our recent research on Indiana’s PA workforce.
At the Bowen Center, our core mission is to collect comprehensive data on all aspects of the health workforce, transforming it into actionable information products for policymakers and health industry experts.
Our 2022 data on Physician Assistants shows:
- There were 2,442 PA license renewals in Indiana in 2022, of which 1,320 were included in our reporting sample
- 74.7% of Indiana PAs are female, with an average age of 37.8 years
- 95.5% of PAs report their primary field is in patient care/documentation
- 46.1% of Indiana PAs reported engaging in telehealth services
We’re also seeing strong projected growth for the PA profession in Indiana:
- The Indiana Department of Workforce Development projects a 35% increase in PA jobs from 2020 to 2030
- 15 Indiana counties are estimated to see PA job growth of 25% or more in this period
However, our research also highlights some workforce distribution challenges, with 20 Indiana counties reporting no PA full-time equivalents.
This Physician Assistants Week, we celebrate the invaluable contributions of PAs while continuing our work to analyze workforce trends and support evidence-based policy making. To all the PAs serving Hoosiers – thank you for your dedication and service!
Read our full PA workforce reports to learn more. And scroll down to check out a data visualization snapshot of Indiana’s Physician Assistant workforce, based on the data available in the three reports below:
by Guest Author | Oct 4, 2024 | Events, News, Playbook
Bowen Director Dr. Hannah Maxey
We are thrilled to announce that Dr. Hannah L. Maxey, Director of the Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research & Policy, has been recognized by Indiana University’s Department of Family Medicine in the IU School of Medicine with a faculty award for her “Outstanding Commitment to Community Engagement and Service.” This prestigious honor, made even more significant by her nomination from colleagues and fellow faculty members, highlights Dr. Maxey’s exceptional contributions to the field of health workforce research in policy, both at home in Indiana and beyond.
Dr. Maxey’s recognition stems in part from her pivotal role in spearheading the recent “Playbook for Enhancing Indiana’s Mental and Behavioral Health Workforce,” a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing critical workforce shortages in mental and behavioral health across Indiana. This strategic roadmap, developed under Dr. Maxey’s leadership, brings together insights from academic institutions, policymakers, and healthcare providers to create actionable recommendations for strengthening Indiana’s mental and behavioral health workforce pipeline. The Playbook, rooted in extensive research and data-driven insights conducted by the Bowen Center, identifies key challenges and opportunities within the workforce pipeline.
Dr. Maxey’s work exemplifies the Bowen Center’s dedication to community-focused research and policy development. Her efforts are poised to make a significant difference in addressing Indiana’s mental health workforce challenges, with the ultimate goal of improving access to mental and behavioral health services for Hoosiers across the state.
We congratulate Dr. Maxey on this well-deserved recognition and look forward to the continued positive impact of her work on Indiana’s healthcare landscape. Her leadership and dedication serve as an inspiration to us all and reinforce the importance of community engagement in driving meaningful change in public health.
Read more about the Playbook here.
