UCSF HWRC Renewed for Five-Years for Long Term Care Research. New NIH Funding for Dementia Workforce Research.
The UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care (UCSF HWRC) is a dynamic hub of policy-oriented research
The UCSF Health Workforce Research Center on Long-Term Care has received a five-year renewal from the US Health Resource and Services Administration.
Growing demand for long-term care services, rising LTC costs, new care models, and current and projected shortages of LTC workers create an urgent need for new LTC workforce research and policy development.
Established in 2013, UCSF HWRC is one of nine programs funded by multi-year cooperative agreements with the US National Center for Health Workforce Analysis in the US Bureau of Health Workforce at HRSA.
The UCSF HWRC’s dynamic hub of two dozen faculty and staff seeks to support the health care workforce in meeting the growing long-term care needs of aging Americans and people with disabilities, both at home and in the community. The UCSF HWRC closely examines the health care workforce and helps shape policies to meet expanding LTC needs.
Their research includes the workforce in nursing homes, home health care, adult day care, community-based settings, and home settings, and includes all LTC occupations. They conduct research on LTC labor market developments, outcomes and impacts of employment and training policies, and report on LTC labor trends.
With regularly produced publications, the UCSF HWRC actively engages with national, regional, state, and local employment and training organizations, as well as professional associations, to disseminate findings to the national and local media. They also provide data and information for federal and state agencies, practice organizations, and policy leaders to inform the development of workforce policy.
UCSF HWRC to Develop NIH-funded AWARD Network for Dementia Workforce Research
UCSF HWRC has also received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the AWARD (Advancing Workforce Analysis and Research for Dementia) Network to advance research on the direct care workforce and other health professionals that serve people living with dementia through programs and activities to create a strong community of researchers.
More than six million people live with neurodegenerative diseases in the United States, receiving care and support from both unpaid care partners and paid workers. The direct care workforce – which includes personal care aides, nursing assistants, and home health aides – is the largest occupation serving people living with dementia, but there is little research to guide evaluation and refinement of workforce-related policies and programs that affect their supply, demand, training, skills, and collaboration with other health care professionals.
There also is an urgent need to identify effective approaches to support direct care workers in their interface with an increasingly diverse population of people living with dementia and with other health care professionals.
The AWARD Network will offer monthly webinars, host annual meetings in conjunction with national conferences, hold summer training institutes, and offer pilot and internship funds.
Those interested in participating in the AWARD Network can sign up through an online application!