Retaining peers in the behavioral health workforce: Factors associated with peer recovery support specialists intent to remain or leave current position.

Objective: Peer recovery support specialists (PRSS) are essential members of the behavioral health workforce. While factors contributing to PRSS job satisfaction and burnout have been examined, less is understood about why PRSS consider leaving or remaining in their roles. This study sought to identify personal, professional, and organizational factors related to PRSS' intentions to leave their current position.

Trends in workplace violence for health care occupations and facilities over the last 10 years.

Issues of workplace violence (WPV) in health care have garnered increasing attention due to the impact on the health care worker's well-being and retention. Yet, our understanding of whether and how WPV rates vary between health care facilities and occupations is limited, particularly information on growth over time. This information is needed to develop and target policies and interventions toward health care workers and settings most at risk.

A Representative Profile of MSW Graduates in the United States.

As the United States faces burgeoning behavioral health needs and a growing recognition of the inextricable link between social conditions and health outcomes and quality-of-life indicators, a current representative profile of the MSW workforce with respect to sociodemographic and employment characteristics can provide a reference point for ongoing assessments of that workforce. The profile also can establish a baseline by which efforts to bolster the diversity and strength of the MSW workforce can be grounded. The core aim of the current study was to generate a nationally representative, descriptive profile of MSW graduates in the United States using a sample of 1,028 MSW graduates (representing a subpopulation of 691,061 individuals) from the 2021 National Survey of College Graduates.

Health Center Characteristics Associated With Hospital Care Among Medicare-Medicaid Dual Enrollees.

Using 2012-2018 Medicare claims and health center data, we identified factors associated with variation in rates of hospital care among Medicare-Medicaid dual enrollees receiving primary care at health centers. In our sample ( n = 5961 health center-years), we found no evidence that patient-centered medical home designation or other modifiable health center characteristics were associated with reductions in hospital care use, which depends more on health center patient mix. Thus, policymakers should target efforts to health centers serving the most disadvantaged and marginalized communities.

Behavioral Health Workforce Distribution in Socially Disadvantaged Communities.

This study sought to understand the geographic distribution of three behavioral health clinician (BHC) types in disadvantaged communities in the U.S. across a standardized index of area disadvantage.

When Interruption Becomes Innovation: How Integrated Behavioral Health in Primary Care Adapted During COVID-19.

Background And Objectives: Integrated behavioral health (IBH) delivered in primary care is critical to addressing the growing behavioral health crisis in the United States. COVID-19 prompted changes to the core components of IBH, causing the model to shift. The specifics of how IBH teams adapted and what these adaptations mean for the future of IBH teams in primary care are uncertain.

How would a certification in harm reduction impact service delivery and the harm reduction workforce? A qualitative study.

Introduction: Harm reduction utilizes evidence-based strategies to reduce the negative health and social impacts of substance use. As harm reduction services expand across the U.S.

Varying Estimates of Social Workers in the United States: Which Data Source to Use?

Behavioral health needs continue rise in the United States and constitute a key driver of health care utilization, costs, and outcomes. Social workers provide a wide range of services across health, behavioral health, and community settings, and while this heterogeneity in practice benefits care delivery, it complicates health workforce analyses. This analysis compares five commonly used national data sources and details similarities and differences in their estimates of the number, type, and practice characteristics of social workers.

Artificial Neural Network Analysis Examining Substance Use Problems Co-Occurring with Anxiety and Depressive Disorders Among Adults Receiving Mental Health Treatment.

The co-occurrence of anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, and substance use problems was examined. The Mental Health Client-Level Data dataset was used to conduct logistic regression models and an artificial neural network analysis. Logistic regression analyses were conducted among adults with anxiety ( = 547,473) or depressive disorders ( = 1,610,601) as their primary diagnosis who received treatment in a community mental health center.

Harm reduction workforce, behavioral health, and service delivery in the USA: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Despite recent financial and policy support for harm reduction in the USA, information on the types of workers within organizations who design, implement, and actualize harm reduction services remains nascent. Little is known about how variability in the harm reduction workforce impacts referrals and linkages to other community supports. This exploratory mixed-methods study asked: (1) Who constitutes the harm reduction workforce? (2) Who provides behavioral health services within harm reduction organizations? (3) Are referral services offered and by whom? (4) Do referrals differ by type of harm reduction worker?

Methods: Purposive sampling techniques were used to distribute an electronic survey to U.

Preparing behavioral health clinicians for success and retention in rural safety net practices.

Purpose: This study assesses how, among behavioral health clinicians working in rural safety net practices, the amount of exposure to care in rural underserved communities received during training relates to confidence in skills important in their work settings, successes in jobs and communities, and anticipated retention.

Methods: This study uses survey data from Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Licensed Professional Counselors, and Psychologists working in rural safety net practices in 21 states while receiving educational loan repayment support from the National Health Service Corps, from 2015 to April 2022.

Findings: Of the 778 survey respondents working in rural counties, 486 (62.

Social workers roles in achieving health quality metrics in primary care: a quality improvement case study.

Value-based payment models may improve patient health by targeting quality of care over quantity of health services. Social workers in primary care settings are well-positioned to improve the quality of health services for vulnerable patients by identifying and addressing patients' social determinants of health. This case study describes a Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) quality improvement approach implemented and refined by social workers to proactively address clinical quality gaps in one family medicine practice.

Pharmacists Colocated With Primary Care Physicians: Understanding Delivery of Interprofessional Primary Care.

Background: While evidence supports interprofessional primary care models that include pharmacists, the extent to which pharmacists are working in primary care and the factors associated with colocation is unknown.

Objectives: This study aimed to analyze the physical colocation of pharmacists with primary care providers (PCPs) and examine predictors associated with colocation.

Research Design: This is a retrospective cross-sectional study of pharmacists and PCPs with individual National Provider Identifiers in the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System's database.

Examining the use of psychiatric collaborative care and behavioral health integration codes at federally qualified health centers: A mixed-methods study.

Introduction: Despite evidence to support the integration of behavioral health and physical health care, the adoption of Integrated Behavioral Health (IBH) has been stymied by a lack of reliable and sustainable financing mechanisms. This study aimed to provide information on the use of Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) and behavioral health integration (BHI) codes and the implementation of IBH in federally qualified health centers (FQHCs).

Method: This cross-sectional, mixed-methods study involved an electronic survey of administrators and follow-up qualitative interviews from a subset of survey respondents.

Are DEA-waivered buprenorphine prescribers colocated with behavioral health clinicians?

Background And Objectives: Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in primary care includes a combination of medication, behavioral therapy, and/or other psychosocial services. This study assessed rates of colocation between waivered prescribers and behavioral health clinicians across the United States to understand if rates varied by provider type and geographic indicators.

Methods: Data from the DEA-Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 provider list as of March 2022 and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System's National Provider Identifier database were gathered, cleaned, and formatted in Stata.

Federally Qualified Health Centers Use of Telehealth to Deliver Integrated Behavioral Health Care During COVID-19.

Federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) that provide comprehensive health services, including integrated behavioral health (IBH), transitioned to deliver care via telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study explored how FQHCs adapted IBH services using telehealth. A mixed-method design was used, pairing a survey disseminated to FQHC administrators with a structured interview.

Frontline, Essential, and Invisible: The Needs of Low-Wage Workers in Hospital Settings During COVID-19.

Background: Frontline health care workers are particularly vulnerable to burnout and diminished well-being as they endure COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors. While physicians and nurses are the public face of those experiencing burnout in hospitals, these stressors also affect low-wage workers such as food and housekeeping/janitorial service workers whose roles largely remain "invisible" when conceptualizing the essential health workforce and understanding their needs. This study sought to understand the experiences of frontline essential workers to better support them and prevent burnout.

Improving the Health of Rural Communities Through Academic-Community Partnerships and Interprofessional Health Care and Training Models.

Health disparities between rural and urban areas are widening at a time when urban health care systems are increasingly buying rural hospitals to gain market share. New payment models, shifting from fee-for-service to value-based care, are gaining traction, creating incentives for health care systems to manage the social risk factors that increase health care utilization and costs. Health system consolidation and value-based care are increasingly linking the success of urban health care systems to rural communities.

Prevalence and Characteristics of Providers' Care Coordination Communication With Schools.

Objectives: Care coordination between schools and medical providers promotes child health, particularly for children with physical, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The purpose of this study was to assess caregivers' reports of provider-school communication for their children. Further, the study assessed if communication rates varied by child demographic or health conditions.

What Do EHRs Tell Us about How We Deploy Health Professionals to Address the Social Determinants of Health.

The objective of this study was to determine how well Electronic Health Record (EHR) documentation identifies which health professionals act to address patient social determinants of health (SDOH) and what interventions are documented. The Electronic Medical Record Search Engine was used to identify food and housing insecurity EHR notes. From the notes, researchers randomly sampled 60 from each SDOH category.

Harnessing the electronic health record to advance integrated care.

Introduction: Integrated health care is utilized in primary care clinics to meet patients' physical, behavioral, and social needs. Current methods to collect and evaluate the effectiveness of integrated care require refinement. Using informatics and electronic health records (EHR) to distill large amounts of clinical data may help researchers measure the impact of integrated care more efficiently.