228468 Health Status of the Aging US Healthcare Workforce

Sunday, November 7, 2010

David J. Lee, PhD , Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL
Lora E. Fleming, MD, PhD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - OHH Center and NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
William G. LeBlanc, PhD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Kristopher L. Arheart, EdD , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Kenneth F. Ferraro, PhD , Department of Sociology, and Center on Aging and the Life Course (CALC), Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Carles Muntaner, MD, PhD , Social Equity and Hlealth, Center for Addictions and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sharon L. Christ, PhD , Purdue University, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, West Lafayette, IN
Alberto J. Caban-Martinez, MPH , Department of Epidemiology & Public Health, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine - NIOSH Research Group, Miami, FL
Evelyn Davila, PhD , Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Florida International University, Miami, FL
Frank Charlie Bandiera, MPH , Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Miami, Miami, FL
Objectives: An aging US population is expected to increase demands on the healthcare system, which is in turn comprised of a rapidly aging workforce. The aim of this study was to investigate the morbidity and health indicator trends among US healthcare workers.

Research Design and Methods: Data (n=6,509) were obtained from a nationally-representative sample of US healthcare workers > 45 years from the 1997-2008 National Health Interview Surveys (NHIS).

Results: The average age of healthcare workers increased at an annual rate of 0.12 years (SE=0.03; p=0.006). Functional limitation among workers in the Health Diagnosing/Assessing/Treating occupations significantly increased annually by 0.48% (SE=0.20; p=0.04), while Health Technologists/Technicians/Service workers experienced a significant annual average increase in the prevalence of obesity 0.72% (SE=0.21; p=0.006). Both worker groups experienced average annual increases in the prevalence of reported hypertension, although this trend was significant only for Health Diagnosing/Assessing/Treating workers (0.85% [SE=0.31; p=0.02]) compared with Health Technologists/Technicians/Service workers (0.55% [SE=0.27; p=0.07]). Healthcare service workers (e.g., nursing and health aids) were up to 6.8 times more likely to be obese and hypertensive, and to report functional limitations and fair-to-poor overall health relative to workers employed in other healthcare workforce sectors.

Conclusions: Workplace accommodations and targeted interventions designed to improve the health and functioning of older healthcare worker populations, especially among elder healthcare service workers, are needed in order to optimize the US healthcare workforce's ability to effectively meet the growing demands of an aging US population.

Learning Areas:
Chronic disease management and prevention
Epidemiology
Occupational health and safety
Public health or related nursing

Learning Objectives:
1. Describe the health and morbidity status of the US healthcare workforce 2. Describe recent trends in health and morbidity status of this workforce 3. Identify occupational groups within this workforce in need of workplace accommodations and targeted interventions designed to improve their health, functioning and overall quality of life

Keywords: Epidemiology, Aging

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: PhD in Epidemiology
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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