The state of racial/ethnic diversity in North Carolina's health workforce.

BACKGROUND: Increasing the racial and ethnic diversity of the health care workforce is vital to achieving accessible, equitable health care. This study provides baseline data on the diversity of health care practitioners in North Carolina compared with the diversity of the state's population.

METHODS: We analyzed North Carolina health workforce diversity using licensure data from the respective state boards of selected professions from 1994-2009; the data are stored in the North Carolina Health Professions Data System.

RESULTS: North Carolina's health care practitioners are less diverse than is the state's population as a whole; only 17% of the practitioners are nonwhite, compared with 33% of the state's population. Levels of diversity vary among the professions, which are diversifying slowly over time. Primary care physicians are diversifying more rapidly than are other types of practitioners; the percentage who are nonwhite increased by 14 percentage points between 1994 and 2009, a period during which 1,630 nonwhite practitioners were added to their ranks. The percentage of licensed practical nurses who are nonwhite increased by 7 percentage points over the same period with the addition of 1,542 nonwhite practitioners to their ranks. Nonwhite health professionals cluster regionally throughout the state, and 79% of them practice in metropolitan counties.

LIMITATIONS: This study reports on only a selected number of health professions and utilizes race/ethnicity data that were self-reported by practitioners.

CONCLUSION: Tracking the diversity among North Carolina's health care practitioners provides baseline data that will facilitate future research on barriers to health workforce entry, allow assessment of diversity programs, and be useful in addressing racial and ethnic health disparities.