Using Supply and Demand to Identify Shortages in the Hearing Health Care Professional Workforce

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Workforce Analysis
• Audiology

Background:

• Hearing loss affects 23% of US adults, posing a significant public health challenge.
• Effective treatments exist, but healthcare professional shortages may hinder access to care.
• Understanding the supply and demand of hearing healthcare professionals (HHC) is vital.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the US HHC professional workforce from 2012 to 2022.
• To identify US areas with HHC professional shortages in 2019.
• To analyze trends in HHC workforce composition.

Main Methods:

• Utilized National Plan and Provider Enumeration System data for HHC professional supply (2012-2022).
• Incorporated hearing loss prevalence and US Census data for workforce demand assessment (2019).
• Defined shortage areas by comparing HHC professional supply and demand metrics.

Main Results:

• The HHC workforce grew over 83% from 20167 to 30704 professionals between 2012 and 2022.
• Audiologists comprised 72.4% of the workforce by 2022, up from 82.6% in 2012.
• In 2019, 75% of US counties were identified as shortage areas, disproportionately rural, with ten states primarily in the South showing shortages.

Conclusions:

• Despite significant workforce growth, many US regions face HHC professional shortages.
• Rural populations are disproportionately affected by these HHC shortages.
• Addressing workforce shortages is essential to improve access to hearing healthcare services.