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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

Addressing the National Rural Health Care Worker Shortage with A Focus on Kindergarten Through 12th Grade Educational Strategies
Policy position paper regarding addressing rural healthcare workforce shortages through K-12 pipeline programs. Discusses educational, programmatic, and financial challenges to engaging K-12 students and implementing pipeline programs. Offers policy recommendations for the U.S. Congress and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to promote student preparedness and interest in health careers.
Author(s): Nicole Thill, Michelle Fortune, Abigail Radcliffe
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Rural Long-Term Care Services and Supports
Policy position paper regarding challenges related to providing high-quality long-term care for older adults in rural areas. Describes how workforce shortages, long-term care financing, and administrative burden impact rural providers. Outlines policy recommendations for policy reforms to address these challenges and improve access to quality long-term care services.
Author(s): Shakeerah McCoy, Jeff Dunbar, Lex Pierre
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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2023 West Virginia Health Sciences and Rural Health Report
Review of medical school enrollment, licensing rates, student debt ratios, residency training, and retention rates in West Virginia, with special focus on the Rural Health Initiative Program. Includes dental and pharmacy program profiles, and describes the Medical Student Loan Program and the Health Sciences Service Program, providing financial awards to health professionals who agree to practice in underserved areas of West Virginia.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
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Confronting Workforce Shortages and Health Worker Well-Being
Six videos addressing the impact of healthcare worker shortages and how those shortages affect individual well-being and the ability to provide care in rural communities. Includes a keynote presentation by the Chief Medical Officer of the Indian Health Service. Transcripts available under the descriptions of the videos.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: National Academy of Medicine
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Virginia Oral Health Workforce Gap Assessment
Report describing challenges in ensuring that all Virginians have equitable access oral healthcare, and offering an actionable framework for addressing them. Features statistics on the Virginia oral healthcare workforce, including numbers of dentists and dental hygienists, numbers of dentists treating Medicaid patients by year from 2012-2022, and a map showing dental Health Professional Shortage Areas. Includes information about the Virginia state loan repayment program for eligible providers.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Virginia Health Catalyst
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A National Staffing Emergency in Rural Health Care
Podcast episode featuring a discussion with three rural hospital executives from Colorado, Wisconsin, and Michigan regarding workforce shortages in rural hospitals. Describes factors driving workforce challenges; recruitment, onboarding, and retention strategies; approaches to introducing healthcare careers to youth and the community; and the role of technology in meeting healthcare needs.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Arizona Graduate Medical Education (GME): Growing Arizona's Primary Care Physician Workforce
Presentation slides highlighting training physicians in Arizona. Discusses population growth trends, health professional shortage areas, Medicaid enrollment data, and more. Discusses rural throughout.
Author(s): Dan Derksen
Date: 12/2023
Type: Presentation Slides
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South Carolina State Health Assessment, 2023
Reports on the health status of South Carolina residents and identifies trends and priorities. Covers topics associated with each stage of life, including maternal and infant health, childhood and adolescence, adulthood, and healthy aging. Additional highlighted areas include population characteristics, health equity, health conditions, access, workforce, public health capacity, community and environmental influences on health, and more. Discusses rural issues throughout, and provides maps showing county-level data for selected topics. Includes a condensed State Health Assessment Companion Report.
Additional links: Companion Report
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Alliance for a Healthy South Carolina (AHSC), Live Healthy South Carolina (LHSC), South Carolina Department of Public Health
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Addressing the Direct Care Workforce Shortage: A Bipartisan Call to Action
Report discusses direct care worker shortages throughout the country. Details shortages of home health aids, certified nursing assistants, and residential care aids, among other direct care workers, and makes recommendations for decreasing shortages. Highlights some of the added barriers faced by rural communities.
Author(s): Lisa Harootunian, Kamryn Perry, Allison Buffett, et al.
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center
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Evaluating Maternal Health Capacity Building in Rural and Underserved Areas: A Research Protocol
Describes a research protocol evaluating a project addressing maternal care shortages in rural and underserved areas of Utah.
Author(s): R.W. Owens, T.C. Whittaker, A. Galt, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 23(4)
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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