The goal of Ying Xue’s research is to develop empirical evidence to guide national policies to optimize the nursing workforce and to improve health care delivery and outcomes, especially among vulnerable populations. Her research has examined the pivotal role of nurses in health care delivery and outcomes, including evidence on quality of care and cost-effectiveness. This work encompasses historical and geographical trends in the nursing workforce, especially related to nursing workforce shortages and workforce diversity, including job satisfaction among racial and ethnic minority nurses. Recent health care reforms designed to reduce health inequalities by addressing access to quality care require much-needed research and policy guidance on the optimal role and contributions of nursing to advance these reforms.
Xue’s current research thus focuses on examining the role of nurse practitioners in improving primary care delivery for vulnerable populations. This work includes evaluation of the impact of federal and state regulations and policies on the availability and care delivery of nurse practitioners and access to primary care among vulnerable populations, and examination of the specific roles, tasks, and collaboration among primary care providers, including nurse practitioners, to identify strategies associated with improved efficiency and quality of primary care delivery. Her research has been funded nationally and been published in top journals such as Health Affairs.
Prior to coming to the University of Rochester, Xue earned her doctoral degree in nursing at Yale University and completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. She joined the UR Nursing faculty in 2006 and was awarded the school’s Promising New Investigator Award in 2007. In 2008, she was one of only 15 junior faculty members nationwide selected to receive an inaugural Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Nurse Faculty Scholar award.
