A new study reveals Blacks, Latinos and Native Americans are “severely” underrepresented in the healthcare workforce, an issue that could exacerbate disease disparities.
The study, which was published in JAMA Network Open and conducted by George Washington University researchers, examined the current racial and ethnic profile of 10 health specialties, using public data from the American Community Survey and the Integrated Post-Secondary Education Data Systems. Researchers also created a health workforce diversity index, comparing the representation of minorities in each specialty to their representation among the working age population.
The findings reveal that minorities are underrepresented when compared to the working age population, and the study is one of the first to measure the comparison. In 2019, 12.1% of the U.S. working age population was Black, while Black representation ranged from just 3.3% for physical therapists to 11.4% for respiratory therapists.
Across all the 10 health specialties studied, Blacks measured .54 on the index––a low score that signifies severe underrepresentation.
“Our findings suggest that Blacks, Latinos and other people of color have been left behind when it comes to the health professions,” Edward Salsberg, lead author of the study, senior research scientist and co-director of the Health Workforce Diversity Tracker project at the GW Fitzhugh Mullan Institute for Health Workforce Equity, said in a statement.
Worse still, the pipeline of Black graduate students was less than in practice for five of the 10 health professions, meaning representation in the future may be even lower.
“These findings show that the health workforce roles that require post graduate education training suffer from a significant underrepresentation of minorities that lags behind their representation in the general population. This trend is unlikely to change unless we devote attention and resources to fix it,” said Maria Portela, study co-author, co-director of the Diversity Tracker project and chief of family medicine for the Department of Emergency Medicine at the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
Latinos accounted for 18.2% of the U.S. working age population, with an index score of .34 in the study. Latino representation in the healthcare workforce ranged from 3.4% for physical therapists to a high of 10.8% for respiratory therapists. Native Americans, which was just 0.6% of the U.S. working age population, ranged from a low of zero in the healthcare workforce to 0.9% in representation.
In health care, representation matters, as there are disproportionate burdens of disease among minority populations, and healthcare workers play a significant role in reducing those disparities.
“By building a more diverse health workforce, the United States would improve access and improve outcomes in underserved communities and for high-need populations,” said Toyese Oyeyemi, a co-author and a co-director of the Diversity Tracker project.
Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."