Effective health workforce analysis requires robust data and information. Quality data facilitate monitoring workforce trends, identifying shortages, forecasting employment needs, and planning educational programs. A wide range of federal agencies collect various forms of data, including administrative data, surveys, and censuses, which can be used for health workforce analysis. However, identifying the most appropriate data sources to address a specific nursing workforce issue can be challenging, particularly for newcomers to the field or those researching unfamiliar topics. In this article, we introduce and review 18 federal data sources pertinent to nursing workforce analysis. We categorize the datasets by their associated federal agency, describe each source, discuss their applicability to nursing workforce studies, present examples of past studies that employed these datasets, and highlight their limitations. Our aim is to help researchers, policymakers, and healthcare administrators efficiently locate and leverage relevant data for their analysis.
AuerbachD. I.BuerhausP. I.StaigerD. O. (2020). Implications of the rapid growth of the nurse practitioner workforce in the US. Health Affairs, 39(2), 273–279. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2019.00686
2.
AuerbachD. I.StaigerD. O.BuerhausP. I. (2021). Inaccurate estimates of the racial and ethnic composition of the registered nurse workforce in the 2018 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Nursing Economics, 39(4), 171–179.
3.
AuerbachD. I.Staiger DouglasO.UlrikeM.Peter IB. (2013). The nursing workforce in an era of health care reform. New England Journal of Medicine, 368(16), 1470–1472. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMp1301694
BerkM.WilenskyG. R. (2016, November 2). How to make the medical expenditures panel survey even more useful. Health Affairs Blog. https://10.1377/forefront.20161102.057386
6.
BlandC., ZuckerbraunS., LinesL. M., KenyonA., Hinsdale-ShouseM., HendershottA., SanchezR., AllenR., DjangaliA. L., KinyaraE., KlineT., and ButlerJ. (2022). Challenges facing CAHPS surveys and opportunities for modernization. RTI Press Publication No. OP0080–2211.RTI Press. .op.0080.2211
7.
BuerhausP. I.StaigerD. O.AuerbachD. I.YatesM. C.DonelanK. (2022). Nurse employment during the first fifteen months of the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Affairs, 41(1), 79–85. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01289
CaffreyC.Harris-KojetinL.RomeV.SchwartzL. (2018). Relationships between residential care community characteristics and overnight hospital stays and readmissions: Results from the National Study of Long-Term Care Providers. Seniors Housing & Care Journal, 26(1), 38–49.
10.
CastnerJ.BellS. A.CastnerM.CouigM. P. (2021). National estimates of the reserve capacity of registered nurses not currently employed in nursing and emergency nursing job mobility in the United States. Annals of Emergency Medicine, 78(2), 201–211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2021.03.006
ChanG. K.CumminsM. R.TaylorC. S.RamburB.AuerbachD. I.Meadows-OliverM.CookeC.TurekE. A.PittmanP(Polly). (2023). An overview and policy implications of national nurse identifier systems: A call for unity and integration. Nursing Outlook, 71(2), 101892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2022.10.005
13.
Davis-AjamiM. L.LuZ. K.WuJ. (2022). Exploring the home healthcare workforce in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias: Utilization and cost outcomes in US community dwelling older adults. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 98, 104536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2021.104536
14.
DesRochesC. M.GaudetJ.PerloffJ.DonelanK.IezzoniL. I.BuerhausP. (2013). Using medicare data to assess nurse practitioner–provided care. Nursing Outlook, 61(6), 400–407. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2013.05.005
15.
DolfmanM. L.InscoM.HoldenR. J. (2017). Nursing and the great recession. Monthly Labor Review, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2017.18
16.
ElkassabanyN. M.PassarellaM.MehtaS.LiuJ.NeumanM. D. (2016). Hospital characteristics, inpatient processes of care, and readmissions of older adults with hip fractures. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 64(8), 1656–1661. https://doi.org/10.1111/jgs.14256
17.
GunnV.MuntanerC.VilleneuveM.ChungH.Gea-SanchezM. (2019). Nursing professionalization and welfare state policies: A critical review of structural factors influencing the development of nursing and the nursing workforce. Nursing Inquiry, 26(1), e12263. https://doi.org/10.1111/nin.12263
HynsonE.BloomerJ.SamsonZ.PriceK.TranD.MuenchU. (2022). Workforce trends of underrepresented minority nurses in the United States over the last decade: Progress towards equal representation?Policy, Politics & Nursing Practice, 23(4), 215–227. PubMed. https://doi.org/10.1177/15271544221118319
20.
JiaoS.MurimiI. B.StaffordR. S.MojtabaiR.AlexanderG. C. (2018). Quality of prescribing by physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in the United States. Pharmacotherapy: The Journal of Human Pharmacology and Drug Therapy, 38(4), 417–427. https://doi.org/10.1002/phar.2095
21.
JuraschekS. P.ZhangX.RanganathanV.LinV. W. (2012). United States Registered nurse workforce report card and shortage forecast. American Journal of Medical Quality, 27(3), 241–249. https://doi.org/10.1177/1062860611416634
22.
KaplanL.SkillmanS. M.FordyceM. A.McMenaminP. D.DoescherM. P. (2012). Understanding APRN distribution in the United States using NPI data. The Journal for Nurse Practitioners, 8(8), 626–635. Social Science Premium Collection. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nurpra.2012.05.022
23.
KaulfusA.AlexanderS.ZhaoS.OsterR. A.O'KeefeL. C., & BartolucciA. (2017). The inherent challenges of using large data sets in healthcare research: Experiences of an interdisciplinary team. Computers, Informatics, Nursing : CIN, 35(5), 221–225. https://doi.org/10.1097/CIN.0000000000000359
24.
KellyD. M.Kutney-LeeA.McHughM. D.SloaneD. M.AikenL. H. (2014). Impact of critical care nursing on 30-day mortality of mechanically ventilated older adults. Critical Care Medicine, 42(5), 1089–1095. https://doi.org/10.1097/CCM.0000000000000127
25.
KindrattT. B. (2022). Big data for epidemiology: applied data analysis using national health surveys. Mavs Open Press. http://hdl.handle.net/10106/30835
26.
KippenbrockT.EmoryJ.LeeP.OdellE.BuronB.MorrisonB. (2019). A national survey of nurse practitioners’ patient satisfaction outcomes. Nursing Outlook, 67(6), 707–712. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2019.04.010
27.
KuL.FrognerB. K.SteinmetzE.PittmanP. (2015). Community health centers employ diverse staffing patterns, which can provide productivity lessons for medical practices. Health Affairs, 34(1), 95–103. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2014.0098
28.
LuoQ.BodasM.VichareA.MontellanoJ.JenningsN.EriksonC.ChenC. (2023). Primary care provider medicaid participation across the United States, 2016. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 34(2), 703–718. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2023.0059
29.
MarkB. A.HarlessD. W.McCueM.XuY. (2004). A longitudinal examination of hospital registered nurse staffing and quality of care. Health Services Research, 39(2), 279–300. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6773.2004.00228.x
30.
MohammedS. A.GuentherG. A.FrognerB. K.SkillmanS. M. (2021). Examining the racial and ethnic diversity of Associate Degree in Nursing programs by type of institution in the US, 2012–2018. Nursing Outlook, 69(4), 598–608. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2021.01.009
31.
NajmabadiS.HondaT. J.HookerR. S. (2020). Collaborative practice trends in US physician office visits: An analysis of the national ambulatory medical care survey (NAMCS), 2007–2016. BMJ Open, 10(6), e035414. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-035414
32.
NguyenJ. K.SanghaviP. (2022). A national assessment of legacy versus new generation medicaid data. Health Services Research, 57(4), 944–956. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.13937
33.
O’Reilly-JacobM.ChapmanJ.SubbiahS. V.PerloffJ. (2023). Estimating the primary care workforce for medicare beneficiaries using an activity-based approach. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38(13), 2898–2905. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08206-3
34.
ParkJ.HanX.PittmanP. (2020). Does expanded state scope of practice for nurse practitioners and physician assistants increase primary care utilization in community health centers?Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 32(6), 447–458. https://doi.org/10.1097/JXX.0000000000000263
35.
PatelS. Y.HuskampH. A.FraktA. B.AuerbachD. I.NeprashH. T.BarnettM. L.JamesH. O.MehrotraA. (2022). Frequency of indirect billing to medicare for nurse practitioner and physician assistant office visits. Health Affairs, 41(6), 805–813. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01968
ReedS. M.ArbetJ.StaubliL. (2021). Clinical nurse specialists in the United States registered with a National Provider Identifier. Clinical Nurse Specialist : CNS, 35(3), 119–128. https://doi.org/10.1097/NUR.0000000000000592
38.
SenguptaM.LendonJ. P.CaffreyC.MelekinA.SinghP. (2022). Post-acute and long-term care providers and services users in the United States, 2017–2018 (cdc:115346). 47.
39.
ShafferF. A.BakhshiM.CookK.ÁlvarezT. D. (2022). International nurse recruitment beyond the COVID-19 pandemic: Considerations for the nursing workforce leader. Nurse Leader, 20(2), 161–167. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2021.12.001
40.
ShahM. K.GandrakotaN.CimiottiJ. P.GhoseN.MooreM.AliM. K. (2021). Prevalence of and factors associated with nurse burnout in the US. JAMA Network Open, 4(2), e2036469–e2036469. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.36469
41.
ShinD. Y.Weech-MaldonadoR.ChangJ. (2020). The impact of market conditions on RN staffing in hospitals: Using resource dependence theory and information uncertainty perspective. Risk Management and Healthcare Policy, 13, 2103–2114. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP.S274529
42.
SilverS. R.LiJ.MarshS. M.CarboneE. G. (2022). Prepandemic mental health and well-being: Differences within the health care workforce and the need for targeted resources. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 64(12), 1025–1035. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000002630
43.
SmileyR. A.AllgeyerR. L.ShoboY.LyonsK. C.LetourneauR.ZhongE.Kaminski-OzturkN.AlexanderM. (2023). The 2022 national nursing workforce survey. The 2022 National Nursing Workforce Survey, 14(1, Supplement 2), S1–S90. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2155-8256(23)00047-9
44.
Weech-MaldonadoR. J.GhiasiA.LordJ.HearldL. R.RondeauK. (2022). HRM Practices, organizational culture and nurse staffing turnover among high-medicaid nursing homes. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2022(1), 17290. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMBPP.2022.17290abstract
45.
WhiteR.KeaheyD.LuckM.DehnR. W. (2021). Primary care workforce paradox: A physician shortage and a PA and NP surplus. Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, 34(10), 39–42. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.JAA.0000791476.25727.d9
46.
World Health Organization. (2022). Strengthening the collection, analysis and use of health workforce data and information: A handbook. World Health Organization.https://iris.who.int/handle/10665/365680
