Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand
AACOM 2024-25 Academic Year Graduating Seniors Survey Summary Report
Results of a survey of 5,045 expected 2025 graduates from colleges of osteopathic medicine and branch campuses. Provides statistics and data on medical education debt and scholarships, graduate medical education plans, and percentages of students who plan to practice in rural underserved or shortage areas.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
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Results of a survey of 5,045 expected 2025 graduates from colleges of osteopathic medicine and branch campuses. Provides statistics and data on medical education debt and scholarships, graduate medical education plans, and percentages of students who plan to practice in rural underserved or shortage areas.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine
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2025 Pennsylvania Dentist and Dental Hygienist Workforce Survey Report
Presents findings from the 2025 Dentist Survey and 2025 Dental Hygienist Survey, designed to collect information on the characteristics and distribution of the dentist and dental hygienist workforces in Pennsylvania. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Department of Health
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Presents findings from the 2025 Dentist Survey and 2025 Dental Hygienist Survey, designed to collect information on the characteristics and distribution of the dentist and dental hygienist workforces in Pennsylvania. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Department of Health
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Understanding Clinical Preceptor Capacity: A Closer Look at the Physician Workforce Serving as Preceptors - Indiana
Provides information on the role of clinical preceptors and an overview of Indiana physicians serving as preceptors as of 2025. Includes a map showing number of preceptors per county as well as their rural designation.
Author(s): Mykayla Moore, Brittany Daulton, Hannah Maxey
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Provides information on the role of clinical preceptors and an overview of Indiana physicians serving as preceptors as of 2025. Includes a map showing number of preceptors per county as well as their rural designation.
Author(s): Mykayla Moore, Brittany Daulton, Hannah Maxey
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Monitoring the Workforce Outcomes of North Carolina Medical School Graduates: Retention In-State and in High Need Geographic Areas and Specialties
Summarizes workforce outcomes for physicians who graduate from North Carolina medical schools, including whether they practice in North Carolina, in rural areas, in high-need specialties, and in North Carolina safety net settings 5 years after graduation. Features statistics on 2020 North Carolina medical school graduates, with breakdowns by practice specialty and rural location.
Author(s): Evan Galloway, Erin Fraher, Nathan Tarr, Hugh H. Tilson Jr.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organizations: North Carolina Area Health Education Center Program, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Summarizes workforce outcomes for physicians who graduate from North Carolina medical schools, including whether they practice in North Carolina, in rural areas, in high-need specialties, and in North Carolina safety net settings 5 years after graduation. Features statistics on 2020 North Carolina medical school graduates, with breakdowns by practice specialty and rural location.
Author(s): Evan Galloway, Erin Fraher, Nathan Tarr, Hugh H. Tilson Jr.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organizations: North Carolina Area Health Education Center Program, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Washington's Health Workforce Sentinel Network Findings Brief: Rural Health Workforce, Spring 2026
Reports on rural health workforce challenges in Washington State using survey response data from healthcare employers. Highlights topics including workforce recruitment and retention, facility-level needs and challenges, workforce pathway and early-career education strategies, and AI use.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Reports on rural health workforce challenges in Washington State using survey response data from healthcare employers. Highlights topics including workforce recruitment and retention, facility-level needs and challenges, workforce pathway and early-career education strategies, and AI use.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Analyzing Trends of Medicare-Participating Nurse Practitioners and Physician Associates in the United States From 2017 to 2025
Results of a study describing how the geographic distribution of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician associates (PAs) has changed. Features statistics with breakdowns by rural and urban areas and state-level maps showing increases or decreases in the numbers of NPs and PAs from 2017 to 2025.
Author(s): Ryan J. Crowley, Jag S. Lally, David M. Kline, Amanda M. Bunting
Citation: Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 38(8), 617-625
Date: 08/2026
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Results of a study describing how the geographic distribution of nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician associates (PAs) has changed. Features statistics with breakdowns by rural and urban areas and state-level maps showing increases or decreases in the numbers of NPs and PAs from 2017 to 2025.
Author(s): Ryan J. Crowley, Jag S. Lally, David M. Kline, Amanda M. Bunting
Citation: Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 38(8), 617-625
Date: 08/2026
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Mapping Rural–Urban Disparities in Otolaryngology Access: A Statewide Analysis of Georgia's ENT Workforce
Examines how the supply, distribution, and training characteristics of otolaryngologists in Georgia vary by rural or urban county using Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Georgia Composite Medical Board, and American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery data. Includes data on rural and urban travel burden, subspecialty availability, and more.
Author(s): Shervin Eskandari, William E. Long, Benjamin Aderinwale, et al.
Citation: OTO Open, 10(3), e70286
Date: 08/2026
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Examines how the supply, distribution, and training characteristics of otolaryngologists in Georgia vary by rural or urban county using Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Georgia Composite Medical Board, and American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery data. Includes data on rural and urban travel burden, subspecialty availability, and more.
Author(s): Shervin Eskandari, William E. Long, Benjamin Aderinwale, et al.
Citation: OTO Open, 10(3), e70286
Date: 08/2026
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Vermont 2024 Physician Census: Statistical Report
Presents detailed profiles of physicians who renewed their licenses as of late 2024 and were providing patient care in Vermont. Features demographics and county-level statistics including primary care physician to population ratios.
Additional links: Methodology Change to Physician Reporting, Summary
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Vermont Department of Health
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Presents detailed profiles of physicians who renewed their licenses as of late 2024 and were providing patient care in Vermont. Features demographics and county-level statistics including primary care physician to population ratios.
Additional links: Methodology Change to Physician Reporting, Summary
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Vermont Department of Health
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Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2026
Reports on maternal healthcare access and provides data on maternity care deserts, distribution of OB providers, and travel time to maternity care, including color-coded, county-level maps. Includes rural versus urban data comparisons of maternal health workforce availability, travel distance to care, and labor and delivery unit closures, and discusses efforts to address rural shortages, including the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP).
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Reports on maternal healthcare access and provides data on maternity care deserts, distribution of OB providers, and travel time to maternity care, including color-coded, county-level maps. Includes rural versus urban data comparisons of maternal health workforce availability, travel distance to care, and labor and delivery unit closures, and discusses efforts to address rural shortages, including the Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP).
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Rural Background, Training Exposure, and Rural Practice Location Among US Physicians
Research letter exploring the interdependence between recruiting students from rural backgrounds and providing exposure to rural settings during undergraduate and graduate medical education training. Uses data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2022 National Sample Survey of Physicians.
Author(s): Xiaochu Hu, Davis G. Patterson, Sarah S. Conrad, Qian Luo, Michael J. Dill
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 9(8), e2625481
Date: 08/2026
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Research letter exploring the interdependence between recruiting students from rural backgrounds and providing exposure to rural settings during undergraduate and graduate medical education training. Uses data from the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) 2022 National Sample Survey of Physicians.
Author(s): Xiaochu Hu, Davis G. Patterson, Sarah S. Conrad, Qian Luo, Michael J. Dill
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 9(8), e2625481
Date: 08/2026
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