Policy Report: 2014 Indiana Dentist Workforce

Information on the oral health workforce is critical to understanding oral health system capacity and informing policy. Unfortunately, the response rate to the emailed version of the survey was extremely low (13.4%) as compared to previous years. It is unclear whether these respondents are representative of Indiana’s dentist workforce; however, these data, representing the most current information available on a sample of this workforce, are presented in this report

Comprehensive Strategy for Evaluation of Clinical Health Coaches in Chronic Disease Management

poster abstractPurpose: As chronic disease rises to the top of morbidity and mortality causes in the United States, improving chronic disease management, particularly at healthcare administration and patient engagement levels, becomes a rising public health concern. Clinical Health Coaches (CHCs) are an innovative role in primary care settings, collaborating with patients to improve patient outcomes. There is a need for best practices guidelines of the CHC role, as there is currently no standardized training program. Iowa Chronic Care Consortium (ICCC) developed a CHC training program which is being implemented in an Indiana Rural Health Association pilot program. This study seeks to develop an evaluation tool for ICCC training and its effectiveness in chronic disease management. Methods: An extensive literature review was performed on previous evaluations of similar health coach role implementation in chronic disease management. ICCC training was completed to further understand the training program. Results: A collaboration of the chronic care model and ICCC’s proposed CHC model was determined to be the most appropriate tool for evaluation. From these models, 5 key domains were identified including: patient engagement, self-management support, patient experience, patient satisfaction, and delivery system design. This comprehensive approach will allow for both qualitative and quantitative analysis. Discussion & Implications: These survey tools will be administered to both patients and CHCs as a part of an evaluation of ICCC training and its effectiveness. As a result of this study, the CHC program could be expanded to more primary care settings to improve health outcomes in chronic disease patients. Learning objectives: Design an evaluation tool for clinical health coach training in chronic disease management. Evaluate the effectiveness of clinical health coach implementation in chronic disease management in a primary care setting

Policy Report: 2013 Indiana's Nursing Workforce

As Indiana plans for the development of a strong nursing workforce, data should be used to inform decisions that are able to 1) accurately describe the current workforce and 2) identify challenges and emerging issues. Data informed decisions will result in workforce policies and planning efforts that closely align with the actual health workforce needs. This report provides a ‘snapshot’ of the most recent data on Indiana’s nursing workforce, identifies emerging issues, and presents information pertinent to workforce planning and policy

Policy Report: 2012 Indiana Pharmacist Workforce

In order to fully leverage the pharmacist workforce in primary care delivery, which is focused more and more on cost-effective and team-based models, the pharmacist workforce must be clearly understood. Policymakers and health professionals must examine data that depicts the practice characteristics, demographics, capacity, and even the evolving role of pharmacists. Furthermore, these data must influence policy discussions that may lead to a more efficient health system. This report provides a ‘snapshot’ of the most recent data on Indiana’s pharmacist workforce, identifies emerging issues, and presents information pertinent to workforce planning and policy

The potential impact of recent UK immigration policy announcements in Scotland

In this perspective paper, we summarise recent changes to immigration policy and analyse their potential impact on Scotland. We highlight the contributions of immigrants to the Scottish economy and demographics, and discuss the effects the new immigration policies may have on sectors such as health and social care and higher education. We also call for more transparent government research on and consideration of the regional impacts of immigration policy

Administrative Challenges to the Integration of Oral Health With Primary Care

Inadequate access to preventive oral health services contributes to oral health disparities and is a major public health concern in the United States. Federally Qualified Health Centers play a critical role in improving access to care for populations affected by oral health disparities but face a number of administrative challenges associated with implementation of oral health integration models. We conducted a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis with health care executives to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of successful oral health integration in Federally Qualified Health Centers. Four themes were identified: (1) culture of health care organizations; (2) operations and administration; (3) finance; and (4) workforce

Care work and the demographic composition of households : two Asian cases

Who provides unpaid caregiving within the household is of economic and policy relevance. This paper examines how care activities are shared among household members, the extent to which women and men substitute for each other in care and work activities, and whether or not they realize economies of scale in care work. Mongolia and South Korea have nationally representative time-use survey data that allow an exploration of these questions. These two countries differ in their level of economic development and industrial structure, demographic profile, and household composition, providing a comparative perspective on the allocation of time to childcare, domestic work and market work within households. The maximum likelihood estimation results reveal significant evidence of substitution between men and women in childcare, but much less so in domestic work or indirect care, and economies of scale in the care of young children and in women's domestic work

Demographic, health, and economic transitions and the future care burden

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of infections and deaths worldwide, forced schools to suspend classes, workers to work from home, many to lose their livelihoods, and countless businesses to close. Throughout this crisis, families have had to protect, comfort and care for their children, their elderly and other members. While the pandemic has greatly intensified family care responsibilities for families, unpaid care work has been a primary activity of families even in normal times. This paper estimates the future global need for caregiving, and the burden of that need that typically falls on families, especially women. It takes into account projected demographic shifts, health transitions, and economic changes in order to obtain an aggregate picture of the care need relative to the potential supply of caregiving in low-, middle- and high-income countries. This extensive margin of the future care burden, however, does not capture the weight of that burden unless the quantity and quality of care time per caregiver are taken into account. Adjusting for care time given per caregiver, the paper incorporates data from time-use surveys, illustrating this intensive margin of the care burden in three countries that have very different family and economic contexts—Ghana, Mongolia, and South Korea. Time-use surveys typically do not provide time data for paid care services, so the estimates depend only on the time intensity of family care. With this caveat, the paper estimates that the care need in 2030 would require the equivalent of one-fifth to two-fifths of the paid labor force, assuming 40 weekly workhours. Using the projected 2030 mean wage for care and social service workers to estimate the hypothetical wage bill for these unpaid caregivers if they were paid, we obtain a value equivalent to 16 to 32 percent of GDP in the three countries

The Economic Impact of University Research Funding in Scotland

The research conducted by universities makes an important contribution to the Scottish economy and society. Such research advances knowledge, develops new products and processes, and increases productivity and economic growth. University research is also a strategic investment. Scotland has more than a population share of the UK's researchers and is often cited as "punching above its weight" in terms of research impact and quality

New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa

The Rising Star cave system has produced abundant fossil hominin remains within the Dinaledi Chamber, representing a minimum of 15 individuals attributed to Homo naledi. Further exploration led to the discovery of hominin material, now comprising 131 hominin specimens, within a second chamber, the Lesedi Chamber. The Lesedi Chamber is far separated from the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave system, and represents a second depositional context for hominin remains. In each of three collection areas within the Lesedi Chamber, diagnostic skeletal material allows a clear attribution to H. naledi. Both adult and immature material is present. The hominin remains represent at least three individuals based upon duplication of elements, but more individuals are likely present based upon the spatial context. The most significant specimen is the near-complete cranium of a large individual, designated LES1, with an endocranial volume of approximately 610 ml and associated postcranial remains. The Lesedi Chamber skeletal sample extends our knowledge of the morphology and variation of H. naledi, and evidence of H. naledi from both recovery localities shows a consistent pattern of differentiation from other hominin species