Background
Behavioral health demands and levels of unmet needs are increasing during the COVID-19 pandemic, yet there is a projected shortage of behavioral health providers by 2030 in select areas of the United States.1-3 Current literature highlights a multitude of factors that are influencing the supply of behavioral health providers, such as the number of retiring providers, low wages, policies that support providers (e.g., parity in reimbursement, loan repayment programs, expanded scopes of practice), and the availability of training.1,4,5 However, there is still a need to better understand the factors that influence behavioral health providers to both enter and exit the behavioral health workforce, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessing these various factors will help support the recruitment and retention of behavioral health providers in order to increase the supply and accessibility of these providers.
This study aims to assess the factors influencing behavioral health providers entry to and exit from the behavioral health workforce in order to better estimate and enhance the availability of behavioral health providers.
Findings
Coming summer 2022.
