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Home > Center Programs > Profession-Specific Studies
Profession-Specific Studies
Components of a Comprehensive Workforce Study for a Health Profession
The following list presents a range of components that might be included in a comprehensive health workforce study. The specific methodologies and elements used in a specific study depend on the research questions to be addressed and the available funding.
The design of each of the Center's studies reflects the goals and needs of the organization funding the study. The Center works closely with organizations to customize projects. Study costs are determined by factors including the scope of work, numbers of participants to be surveyed, and availability of current data.
For more information, contact Paul Wing, Deputy Director of the Center, at pow01@health.state.ny.us or 518-402-0250. Download a hardcopy of this document here.
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A good starting point for a workforce study is to develop or obtain a comprehensive profile of a given profession’s current workforce. This is fundamental to understanding the profession. Sometimes, a professional association may have a database which can be used to obtain some of the desired information. In many cases, a new survey of individuals in the profession is the only way to obtain the desired basic information. Ideally, the basic information would include:
 Demographic characteristics, educational backgrounds, current employment status, practice settings and locations salaries, licenses and credentials, and
An assessment of the professional practice environment and activities, needed competencies, reporting relationships, workplace issues, job markets, career paths, new technologies, and future plans and expectations.
An analysis of different cohorts based on age or date of entry into the field can indicate changes in the profession over time. Regional analyses can indicate geographic differences in demographic characteristics and professional practice patterns.
An early key decision is whether to focus on the members of an association (either through analysis of existing data or through a new survey) or to try to survey everyone in the profession. While focusing on members of an association is less costly, members are often not representative of the universe of individuals in the profession. This decreases the utility of the member survey data to represent all members of the profession.
On the other hand, a survey of all individuals in a profession can be difficult and costly. The advantage is that a well-designed survey and survey process will obtain needed information on the whole profession. Such a survey can also be valuable to a professional association to learn how their members compare to the universe of individuals in the profession.
Another decision could be to survey a sample of the universe of individuals in a profession. The major benefit of using a sample is the lower cost. A carefully designed sample will provide a great deal of information on the professional practice patterns and attitudes. If the sample is large enough, it should be sufficient to draw conclusions about important subgroups within the profession based on such differences as gender, age, region, education, or specialty. The major drawbacks of a sample are the inability to do analysis for small subgroups and the decrease in the confidence in the findings for specific subgroups that may be limited in number in the profession; for example, the practice patterns of Latino males. It can be difficult to obtain lists of individuals that represent enough diversity of education and practice to confidently draw a representative sample that includes subgroups of interest.
When designing profession-specific studies, the Center considers the quality of the available information, the goals of the study, and the available funding to determine the best approach to developing a profile of the workforce.
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2. Review of the Literature
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It is recommended that a careful literature review be conducted early in the study. This should include literature on the profession, work environment, and work settings, and recent developments that may impact on the profession. Prior workforce-related studies can be particularly helpful in providing baseline and historic data on the profession which help document changes in the profession and the workplace.
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3. Analysis of Existing Data Sources
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For some professions, existing sources of data can provide valuable information and insights on the profession. Useful sources include the U.S. Census and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These sources are more valuable if the profession is separately listed in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC), which includes over 700 professions and occupations across all sectors. Other national surveys include the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS), the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the Public Use Microdata Set (PUMS), and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Reports to the Centers on Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) may also provide useful data on use of services by profession and/or facility staffing patterns.
In designing a workforce study, it is important to assess the potential to use such data sources for the profession under study. For some professions, it is possible to obtain valuable data; however, for others, there are major limitations. For example, there may be data available for only a subset of a profession, or from only some of the patients or work settings.
The Center has explored and is knowledgeable about all of the major national surveys in the health and labor fields and their health workforce content.
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4. Focus Groups and In-Depth Interviews with Individuals in a Profession or Members of an Association
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Focus groups, interviews, and panels of professionals can provide valuable insights about a profession that cannot be obtained using a survey. These strategies provide opportunities to review challenges faced by the profession that may influence future directions and policies. They may also promote understanding of possible changes in the skills and knowledge required of practitioners, new requirements and regulations, or new technologies that may impact practice. Where possible, the Center conducts such interviews in conjunction with association meetings to limit travel costs and facilitate participation.
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5. Surveys and/or Focus Groups with Students Graduating from Professional Programs
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Surveys of students about to graduate from professional education programs are an excellent source of information about the job market for a profession, including demand for individuals with specific education in specific regions. Graduates' employment plans in terms of settings, salaries, and geographic locations provide important insights about demand, use, and distribution of individuals in the profession. Graduates also provide a good profile of the future of a profession's demographic and educational characteristics, and trends in demand and practice.
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6. Survey of Education Programs and Educators
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Understanding the educational pipeline into a profession is critical for addressing issues of supply and distribution. Data and insights gathered through surveys help clarify trends in the size of education programs, numbers of graduates, number and quality of applicants, key elements of education programs, job markets for new graduates, and expectations for the near future, including identifying emerging issues and challenges. In combination with other study options, surveys of educators and education programs may reveal gaps between the goals and realities of the present system.
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7. Employer Case Studies
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Insights from employers are extremely valuable to understanding current and future demand and use of a profession, desired skills and competencies, and professionals that may be used in lieu of those in the profession under study. Ideally, a survey of employers is conducted, but for many professions, it is very difficult to obtain an adequate response rate from employers.
The Center has found that in-depth case studies are a better choice than employer surveys. By interviewing 20 or so managers in an employer organization, one can be assured of identifying individuals who understand the profession under study. The interviews also permit exploration of emerging trends for both the employers and the profession.
The Center has conducted case studies of bellwether employers to obtain insights and opinions from a variety of executives and managers about how professionals are used, and their strengths and weaknesses, educational preparation, recruiting and retention issues, career paths, changes expected in the future, etc.
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8. In-Depth Interviews with Other Stakeholders
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Stakeholder interviews provide valuable information regarding the environment in which a profession operates and how it is changing. Stakeholder groups may include government regulators, medical experts, clinical researchers, provider associations, consumer groups, funding organizations, and elected officials. Taken together, these interviews provide valuable contextual information about the profession.
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9. Forecasting Future Supply and Demand
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Many professions are interested in knowing whether they are likely to face a surplus or shortage in the future. This requires a careful assessment of supply and demand and the factors that impact both. It may involve the development of a model to study the likely effect of a variety of possible developments and external changes on the profession. It can also include creating alternate "what-if" scenarios for the future supply and demand in the profession.
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10. Assessment of the Legal Scope of Practice for the Profession in the 50 States
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Through the development of a statistical index that summarizes the scope of practice for a profession in each of the 50 states, it is possible to determine the extent of standardization across the country. Scope of practice studies help clarify variations in the legal requirements and restrictions that exist for professionals in different states. They also identify states that have especially broad or narrow scopes of practice for a given profession, as well as any gaps that may exist between legal requirements, limitations on practice, and perceived stndards to perform successfully in a field.
Information from surveys of individuals in the profession, focus groups, and employers can be combined with scope of practice analysis to assess the impact of practice regulations on the use of the profession, access to care, and professional satisfaction.
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11. Study Advisory Committee
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Establishing an advisory committee for a workforce study is highly recommended. Advisory committees should include individuals in the profession, representatives of the major types of organizations that employ the profession, educators, researchers, and others. Committee members can help open doors for interviews and case studies. They may be asked to review draft surveys and help interpret findings, as well as guide different aspects of the study. They can also help to assure that study findings and recommendations are presented in appropriate policy and practice forums.
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12. Design and Development of Ongoing Data Collection
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The Center can assist an association or profession to design an ongoing data collection system, e.g., the design and implementation of annual membership renewals and/or periodic member surveys.
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13. Establishment of Workforce Tracking Systems
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Workforce tracking systems assist in understanding important trends in a profession over time and permit assessing participant perspectives on emerging issues. One approach is to track a representative panel of members through periodic surveys to assess changes in the profession and the practice environment. The Center recommends utilizing the Internet to reduce costs of paper surveys.
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14. Special Presentations, Reports, Journal Articles and Dissemination of Findings
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Along with the usual final reports associated with research studies, it is often desirable to prepare additional materials for specific audiences or purposes. These may include summary reports, reports on special topics, journal articles, annotated bibliographies, press releases, legislative briefings, and presentations for national conferences.
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