Demand for Health Services Researchers in 2020

1
Demand for Health Services Researchers in 2020
The Health Services Researcher of 2020 Summit
on the Future of the Health Services Research
Workforce Presented at AcademyHealth Annual
Research Meeting June 9, 2008

• Craig Thornton Jonathan Brown

2
Understanding the Demand for Health Services
Researchers in 2020

• What organizations employ health services
  researchers
• What have been recent trends in the funding of
  HSR?
• What are the mix of skills sought in health
  services researchers?
• What are the challenges to hiring qualified staff?

3
Data Sources

• HSRProj for projects that began from 2000 to 2005
• Coalition for Health Services Research estimates
  of spending for HSR
• The Foundation Center statistics on health
• AcademyHealth interviews with selected employers
• AcademyHealth Salary Survey 2007
• Survey of employers who advertised employment on
  AcademyHealth website

4
How Many Organizations Employ Health Services
Researchers?
Source HSRProj for projects beginning 2000 to
2005
5
Who Employs Health Services Researchers?
Source AcademyHealth Salary Survey 2007
6
What Organizations Fund HSR?
Source HSRProj for projects beginning 2000 to
2005
7
What Has Been the Trend in Federal Funding for
Health?
Source Centers for Medicare Medicaid
Services, Office of the Actuary
8
What Has Been the Trend in Federal Funding for
HSR?
Source Coalition for Health Services Research
Annual Reports (2003 2007)
9
What Has Been the Trend in Foundation Funding for
Health?
SOURCE The Foundation Center
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What Skills do Employers Need?

• Training and experience equally important
• Writing for diverse audiences
• Communicating to non-technical audiences
• Broad knowledge of health care system
• Quantitative analysis skills
• Working in teams
• Similar to Forrest et al.

Source AcademyHealth Coordinating Council for
HSR MPR survey of employers
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What Are the Challenges to Hiring Health Services
Researchers?

• Many applicants have inadequate skills
• - Lack of multidisciplinary training
• - Lack of training for applied environment
• Jobs tend to be in high cost areas
• Shortage of racial and ethnic minority applicants
• Tougher competition across the field

Source AcademyHealth Coordinating Council for
HSR MPR survey of HSR employers
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Future Demand for Health Services Researchers

• Demand for labor tied to demand for HSR
• Potential HSR value will likely increase Future
  demand uncertain
• Employers use many strategies to deliver HSR even
  with shortages of researchers with formal HSR
  training
• HSR generalists needed to lead multidisciplinary
  teams

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Future Demand for Health Services Researchers

• What Should the Field Do?
• Increase value added of HSR
• Policy relevance
• Clear exposition
• Rigorous methods
• Increase perceptions of HSR value
• Training to meet employers skill requirements