Building a Data System for Health and Labor Economics Research: The U.S. National Dementia Workforce Study
The growing prevalence of dementia in the United States underscores an urgent need to understand and strengthen the workforce providing this specialized care. This seminar presents findings from the National Dementia Workforce Study, sponsored by the U.S. National Institute on Aging. This is the first large-scale, annual survey program systematically tracking the dementia care workforce in America.
Through comprehensive annual surveys and linked administrative and clinical data sources, this research initiative provides unprecedented insights into workforce composition, training, turnover, retention, and quality of life among dementia care workers across multiple care settings. We will discuss emerging findings on how workforce characteristics and practices influence care quality, person-centered outcomes, and financial sustainability of dementia care services.
Critically, this seminar highlights opportunities for health services researchers, health economists, and policy analysts to advance the field. All survey data and linked data sources are freely available to the research community, enabling investigators to address key questions about workforce determinants of care quality, cost-effectiveness of different staffing models, and evidence-based strategies to build a sustainable dementia care workforce.
We welcome researchers and stakeholders interested in understanding how investment in workforce development translates to better health and economic outcomes for people living with dementia and their families.
Speaker:
Dr. Joanne Spetz – Professor, University of California – San Francisco. Joanne Spetz is Director and Brenda and Jeffrey L. Kang Presidential Chair in Health Care Financing at the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies (IHPS), University of California San Francisco. IHPS is a 50-year-old organization that conducts innovative research to support, guide, and enable policymakers, communities, and clinicians in making evidence-informed decisions that improve health and health care for individuals and families.
Dr. Spetz’s research focuses on the economics of the health care workforce, organization of health care services, and quality of health care. She directs the federally funded UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care, which generates evidence to ensure an adequate workforce to provide patient-centered care to individuals with long-term care needs across the lifespan. She is an internationally known expert on the nursing workforce, leading studies of nurse supply, demand, education, earnings, and contributions to the quality of care across healthcare settings. Her current research includes serving as the co-Principal Investigator for the National Dementia Workforce Study, and leading a study of the nurse practitioners and midwives in California.