GHECon affiliate profile JE Spetz … 26-May-13
Name
Affiliations
Narrative
(brief; refer to
detailed
information on
projects and
publications
below)
Goals
Selected
projects
Joanne Spetz, PhD
Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, Dept. of Family & Community Medicine,
Dept. of Social and Behavioral Science (School of Nursing), and Faculty Researcher at
Center for the Health Professions
Dr. Spetz’s research focuses on the economics of the health care workforce and on the
quality of patient care. She also conducts research on the impact of drug policies on the
use of illicit substances by youths and young adults. She has led national and state
surveys of registered nurses, nurse employers, and nursing schools; developed forecasts
of nurse supply and demand in California; evaluated programs to expand the supply of
nurses; and examined unemployment of nurses in a global context. She also has
conducted research on the effects of health information technologies in hospitals,
studies of the relationship between nursing and patient outcomes, analysis of hospital
services and organization, and assessments of the effects of minimum nurse staffing
regulations on patients and hospitals. Her other research interests include maternalchild health and immigrant health.
 Improve capacity of government agencies to engage in health workforce planning
based on understanding of the principles of labor economics and empirical research.
 Apply quantitative research methods to analyzing varied global health issues.
 Surveys of Registered Nurses, Nursing Schools, and Nurse Employers – Surveys
conducted every two years of 10,000 RNs in California (California Board of Registered
Nursing 2005-present). Principal Investigator for the 2008 National Sample Survey of
Registered Nurses (HRSA 2007-2011). Annual surveys of RN program Deans and
Directors in California (BRN 2005-present), and of RN employers in California
(Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, 2010-present). Additional one-time surveys of
Nurse Practitioners, Nurse Midwives, and nurses seeking to migrate to and from
California conducted.
 Indicators of Success in Implementing IOM Recommendations for the Future of
Nursing – Development of metrics to assess progress toward implementation of the
IOM recommendations, and collection of data for public reporting. (Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, 2011-present)
 Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Evaluation – Evaluation of multiple
programmatic strategies to improve the interprofessional collaborative environment
at a nurse-led health clinic that serves a disadvantaged population. (HRSA, 2012present)
 Testing Medical Marijuana’s Unintended Consequences for Youth and Young
Adults – Analysis of multiple data sources to understand the impact of medical
marijuana laws on youth and young adult substance use, emergency department
visits associated with drug and alcohol use, and traffic fatalities (NIDA, Multiple PI
with Laura Schmidt, 2012-present)
 Effects of Hospital Unions on Nurse Staffing and Quality of Care – Assessment of
the national impact of RN unionization on wages, staffing, and patient outcomes
(AHRQ, 2007-2011)
 Evaluation of Programs to Increase RN Faculty Supply – Mixed methods evaluation
of multiple strategies to increase RN faculty supply in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Research included surveys, interviews, and analysis of quantitative data. (Gordon
and Betty Moore Foundation, 2008-2010)
 Impact of Minimum Nurse-to-Patient Ratio Regulations – Analyses of the effects of
California’s hospital regulations on nurse wages, staffing, and quality of patient care.
(AHRQ, PI: Mark (UNC), 2006-2011; California Health Care Foundation, PI: Spetz,
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Collaborators
(selected)
5 key
publications
Teaching
Skills
Substantive
areas
2006-2008)
 Economists: Michael Ash (U Massachusetts), David Harless (VCU), Ciaran Phibbs
(Palo Alto VA), Richard Scheffler (UC Berkeley), Stephen T. Parente (U Minnesota),
Douglas Staiger (Dartmouth)
 Sociologists: Laura Schmidt (UCSF), Beth Mertz (UCSF), Patricia Pittman (GWU)
 Health Services Researchers: Janet Coffman (UCSF), Thomas Vaughn (U Iowa), James
Burgess (Boston VA), Carolyn Aydin (Cedars-Sinai), Kristin Reiter (UNC)
 Nursing researchers: Susan Chapman (UCSF), Barbara Mark (UNC), Jean Ann Seago
(UCSF), Nancy Donaldson (UCSF), Mary Blegen (UCSF), Cheryl Jones (UNC), Christine
Kovner (NYU), Carol Brewer (U Buffalo), Lynn Unruh (UCF), Patricia Dennehy
(UCSF/Glide), David Vlahov (UCSF), Laura Wagner (UCSF), Colleen Goode (U
Colorado), Mary Foley (UCSF), Michael Gates (San Diego State), Shin-Hye Park
(NDNQI), Charlene Harrington (UCSF), Linda Aiken (U Penn), Michelle Tellez (CSU East
Bay)
 Physicians: Kevin Grumbach (UCSF), Henry Michtalik (JHU)
 Psychologists: Bonnie Halpern-Felsher (UCSF)
 Survey researchers: V Naranyan (Westat), S Fry (Westat)
 Spetz, J. Unemployed and Underemployed Nurses. Geneva, Switzerland:
International Council of Nurses. 2011.
 Spetz, J, Gates, M, Jones, C.B. Internationally-Educated Nurses in the United States:
Their Origins and Roles. Nursing Outlook, in press
 Spetz, J, Mark, BA, Harless, DW, Herrera, C. Using minimum nurse staffing
regulations to measure the relationship between nursing and hospital quality of care.
Medical Care Research and Review, online February 11, 2013
 Scheffler, R, Bruckner, T, Spetz, J. The Labor Market for Human Resources for Health
in Low and Middle Income Countries. Human Resources for Health Observer, 2012,
11.
 Spetz, J, Phibbs, CS, Burgess, JF. What Determines Successful Implementation of
Inpatient Information Technology Systems? American Journal of Managed Care,
2012, 19 (3): 157-162. PMID: 22435909.
Health Care Finance and Economics (BioEngineering program & School of Nursing),
mentoring
Established: Quantitative methods, econometric methods (including instrumental
variables and multi-level modeling), cost-effectiveness analysis, mixed methods
evaluation, survey research, economic theory.
Desired: Experimental design in economics research
Established: Nursing labor markets (including advanced practice), nursing education
capacity, international nurse migration, workforce diversity, inpatient safety and
outcomes, hospital organization and finances, health information technology, oral
health workforce, birth outcomes, prenatal care, substance abuse, tuberculosis,
pressure ulcers, patient falls, health care unions,
Desired: Behavioral health workforce
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