The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55104

Tina McRee, MA, Univ of California, San Francisco - Center for the Health Professions, 3333 California Street, Suite 410, San Francisco, CA 94118, 415/502-4291, tmcree@itsa.ucsf.edu

To date, there has been little study of the mental and behavioral health care workforce in the U.S. In California, nearly 63,000 skilled professionals and thousands of affiliated health care personnel are employed to care for the state’s growing population of persons with mental illness. At a time when research in medicine, psychology and sociology is indicating deeper, more direct relationships between physical and mental health, and policy makers are searching for cost-effective ways to provide appropriate health care services to an aging and more culturally diverse population, this study provided one of the first comprehensive profiles of California’s current mental health workforce. Also included were a forecast of workforce needs through 2010, a description of the ecology of mental health work (including systemic and societal influences on practice), and recommendations for education and workforce development policy.

Learning Objectives:

• This session describes one of the first comprehensive studies of the California mental and behavioral health care workforce, including number of licensed professionals, the ecology of their work, and current workforce policy issues. Objectives include: consider conclusions of the study and policy recommendations arising from the study; Acquire greater understanding of workforce distribution, unique structures of California workforce, problems in rural areas and challenges of treating particular conditions and providing services to underserved groups; Consider the current lack of data and research describing the mental health workforce (in CA and nationally) and need for better study of this critical workforce

Keywords: Mental Health Services, Health Care Workers

Related Web page: www.futurehealth.ucsf.edu/cwi.html

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: University of California, San Francisco - Center for the Health Professions
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: employee of UCSF Center for the Health Professions