Allied Health Workforce Analysis: Sacramento/Northern California Region, a report prepared by the UCSF Center for Health Professions, is a report that examines the “allied health workforce” in a geography that encompasses nearly the entire northern half of California and includes 26 different counties. This group is comprised of professionals who provide a range of diagnostic, technical, therapeutic and direct patient care services, as well as support services. The field of allied health ranges from entry-level occupations requiring minimal educational investment to highly specialized occupations requiring advanced degree training for entry into practice.

Findings include:

• By 2030, the Latino population will grow to represent over one-half of the region's total population growth.
  
• Graduates of entry-level health education programs are more diverse in comparison to graduates of advanced degree programs, or programs where admission is more competitive. Underrepresentation in programs leading to an advanced degree, and where admissions are competitive, is most pronounced among Latino and Native American students.
  
• In the context of the region's current health care workforce, Latino, Native American and African American health care workers are concentrated in the segment of the health care workforce that consists of mainly low paying, entry-level occupations.