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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health occupations

Value-Based Payments Are Catching On, but Rural and Small Practices Lag
Describes the current rates of primary care physician (PCP) participation in value-based payment. Includes data on the percent of primary care physicians in rural and small practices that reported receiving revenue from value-based payment in 2025. Discusses barriers and potential solutions to increasing PCP participation in value-based payment.
Author(s): Celli Horstman, Corrine Lewis
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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West Virginia Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the supply and distribution of behavioral health clinicians in West Virginia in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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West Virginia Rural Obstetrical Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the obstetricians and advanced practice midwives workforce distribution in West Virginia in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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West Virginia Rural Primary Care Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in West Virginia in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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State of North Carolina's Mental Health and Substance Use Services Workforce: Need, Supply, and Distribution Landscape Assessment
Provides an overview on need, supply, and distribution of behavioral health professionals in North Carolina. Includes county-level maps and data on workforce and behavioral health issues.
Author(s): Brianna Lombardi, Jennifer Headley, Monica P. Jimenez, et al.
Date: 03/2026
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Connected Care for Older Adults: A Pilot Intervention Engaging Community Health Workers to Advance Age-Friendly Care in Rural Oregon
Describes a pilot program implementing the 4Ms of the Age-Friendly Health System framework by embedding community health workers in rural primary care teams for 388 older adult medically frail patients. Assesses patient and clinician satisfaction and associated healthcare utilization.
Author(s): Bryanna De Lima, Lindsay Miller, Elizabeth Foster, Jodi Ready, Elizabeth Eckstrom
Citation: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 74(3), 705-711
Date: 03/2026
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Virginia's Pharmacist Workforce: 2025
An overview of the pharmacist workforce in Virginia based on data from the 2025 Pharmacist Workforce Survey. Features statistics including the number of pharmacists in rural Virginia and how many grew up in rural areas.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Department of Health Professions
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Virginia's Pharmacy Technician Workforce: 2025
An overview of the pharmacy technician workforce in Virginia based on data from the 2025 Pharmacy Technician Workforce Survey. Features statistics including the number of pharmacy technicians in rural Virginia and how many grew up in rural areas.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Department of Health Professions
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Expanding Behavioral Health Teams in Care Deserts With Community Health Workers and Peer Support Specialists
Report explores the role community health workers can play in expanding behavioral health access to rural areas and care deserts. Highlights how community health workers can support behavioral health access through outreach activities, serving as community liaisons, screening for behavioral health concerns, and providing community education, among other measures.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Expanding Access to Community Health Workers in Rural Communities
Webinar recording examines community health worker (CHW) programs in Oregon, Tennessee, and Virginia that support access to essential health services in rural areas. Focuses on integrating CHWs into interdisciplinary teams within health systems, program design, CHW training and certification, and more. Transcript available below description.
Author(s): Megan Terrell, Annie Cloke, Brea Burke, et al.
Date: 02/2026
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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