Dataset Information

Radiation biology workforce in the United States.

ABSTRACT: In recent decades, the principal goals of participants in the field of radiation biologists have included defining dose thresholds for cancer and non-cancer endpoints to be used by regulators, clinicians and industry, as well as informing on best practice radiation utilization and protection applications. Importantly, much of this work has required an intimate relationship between "bench" radiation biology scientists and their target audiences (such as physicists, medical practitioners and epidemiologists) in order to ensure that the requisite gaps in knowledge are adequately addressed. However, despite the growing risk for public exposure to higher-than-background levels of radiation, e.g. from long-distance travel, the increasing use of ionizing radiation during medical procedures, the threat from geopolitical instability, and so forth, there has been a dramatic decline in the number of qualified radiation biologists in the U.S. Contributing factors are thought to include the loss of applicable training programs, loss of jobs, and declining opportunities for advancement. This report was undertaken in order to begin addressing this situation since inaction may threaten the viability of radiation biology as a scientific discipline.

SUBMITTER: Williams JP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9880969 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Radiation biology workforce in the United States.

Williams Jacqueline P JP Anscher Mitchell S MS Vazquez Marcelo M Kronenberg Amy A Willey Jeffrey S JS Lawrence Theodore T Woloschak Gayle E GE Marples Brian B Wong Rosemary R Howell Roger W RW

Journal of applied clinical medical physics 20221201

In recent decades, the principal goals of participants in the field of radiation biologists have included defining dose thresholds for cancer and non-cancer endpoints to be used by regulators, clinicians and industry, as well as informing on best practice radiation utilization and protection applications. Importantly, much of this work has required an intimate relationship between "bench" radiation biology scientists and their target audiences (such as physicists, medical practitioners and epide ...[more]

PMID: 36705246

Similar Datasets

Project description:PurposeBlack physicians remain disproportionately underrepresented in certain medical specialties, yet comprehensive assessments in radiation oncology (RO) are lacking. Our purpose was to report current and historical representation trends for Black physicians in the US RO workforce.Methods and materialsPublic registries were used to assess significant differences in 2016 representation for US vs RO Black academic full-time faculty, residents, and applicants. Historical changes from 1970 to 2016 were reported descriptively. Linear regression was used to assess significant changes for Black residents and faculty from 1995 to 2016.ResultsIn 2016, Black people represented 3.2% vs 1.5% (P < .001), 5.6% vs 3.2% (P = .005), and 6.5% vs 5.4% (P = .352) of US vs RO faculty, residents, and applicants, respectively. Although RO residents nearly doubled from 374 (1974) to 720 (2016), Black residents peaked at 31 in 1984 (5.9%; 31 of 522) and fell to 23 (3.2%; 23 of 720) in 2016 across 91 accredited programs; Black US graduate medical education trainees nearly doubled over the same period: 3506 (1984) to 6905 (2016). From 1995 to 2016, Black US resident representation significantly increased by 0.03%/y, but decreased significantly in RO by -0.20%/y before 2006 and did not change significantly thereafter. Over the same period, Black US faculty representation significantly increased by 0.02%/y, whereas Black RO faculty significantly increased by 0.07%/y before 2006, then decreased significantly by -0.16%/y thereafter. The number of Black RO faculty peaked at 37 in 2006 (3.1%; 37 of 1203) and was 27 (1.5%; 27 of 1769) in 2016, despite the nearly 1.5-fold increase in the number of both RO faculty and Black US faculty overall (4169 in 2006 and 6047 in 2016) during that period.ConclusionsBlack physicians remain disproportionately underrepresented in RO despite an increasing available pipeline in the US physician workforce. Deliberate efforts to understand barriers to specialty training and inclusion, along with evidence-based targeted interventions to overcome them, are needed to ensure diversification of the RO physician workforce.

Project description:ObjectiveTo investigate how the health services research (HSR) workforce supply in the United States has evolved over the last 5 years.Data sourcesMembership data of AcademyHealth participants, professional networking websites, PubMed, grant databases, and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.Study designDescriptive study comparing size and characteristics of the HSR workforce and graduates identified across multiple data sources. Lists of authors and principal investigators (PIs) were merged and de-duplicated to identify unique counts. Pearson's chi-squared test was used to compare characteristics between members and nonmembers of AcademyHealth.Data collectionDownloaded files from websites and received survey data extracted by AcademyHealth between 2016 and 2020.Principal findingsThe workforce size ranged from 9610 to 28,136, depending on data source. Common employers included universities, government settings, and health systems. Little overlap in employers existed for individuals with potentially competing skill sets. The HSR workforce appeared more diverse than the US adult population, with two to three times greater representation among Asian individuals yet lower representation among Black/African American (30%) and Hispanic (75%) individuals compared with the US population. Exactly 87,721 master's and 3105 doctoral degree graduates from core HSR fields were added over 5 years from public and not-for-profit institutions. Including for-profit institution graduates increased the count by 15% for master's and 30% for doctoral graduates. Hispanic (any race), Black/African American, and multiracial individuals gained representation among core HSR graduates, with for-profit institutions substantially contributing to the number of Black/African American graduates.ConclusionsThe HSR workforce is growing with increasing diversity among its graduates compared with previous studies. Additional work is needed to understand how employers value the contributions of those trained in HSR. Continued efforts are needed to ensure HSR workforce diversity to frame critical research questions and develop programs and policies that reflect the needs of the community.

Dataset Information

Radiation biology workforce in the United States.

Publications

Radiation biology workforce in the United States.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets