Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand
Health Workforce Research Data Center: Annual Report to the Legislature, January 2026
Provides an overview of California's health workforce data, projections, demographics, education and employment trends, and more. Provides county-level data on healthcare occupations including behavioral health providers, nurses and advanced practice registered nurses, allied health professionals, and other clinicians.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: California Department of Health Care Access and Information
view details
Provides an overview of California's health workforce data, projections, demographics, education and employment trends, and more. Provides county-level data on healthcare occupations including behavioral health providers, nurses and advanced practice registered nurses, allied health professionals, and other clinicians.
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: California Department of Health Care Access and Information
view details
JCO Oncology Practice: Understaffed and Overbooked: The Problems with Maintaining Specialty Care in Rural Areas
Podcast episode discussing the results of a study on rural oncologists' experiences with specialist scarcity in rural areas, and details how oncology workforce shortages contribute to reduced access to care and increased physician burnout. Transcript available below audio player.
Author(s): Fumiko Chino, Erika Moen, Dan Zuckerman
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: JCO Oncology Practice
view details
Podcast episode discussing the results of a study on rural oncologists' experiences with specialist scarcity in rural areas, and details how oncology workforce shortages contribute to reduced access to care and increased physician burnout. Transcript available below audio player.
Author(s): Fumiko Chino, Erika Moen, Dan Zuckerman
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: JCO Oncology Practice
view details
The VA Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative: A Qualitative Evaluation Guided by the RE-AIM Framework
Discusses the design, implementation, and outcomes of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative (RIFDI) via mid-program, program end, and post-program interview excerpts and survey data of RIFDI participants. Details impacts of RIFDI on rural clinician-educators and broader rural health workforce recruitment and retention.
Author(s): Sarah Keithly, Paige Perry, Erica J. Ho, et al.
Citation: BMC Medical Education, 26, 215
Date: 01/2026
view details
Discusses the design, implementation, and outcomes of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Rural Interprofessional Faculty Development Initiative (RIFDI) via mid-program, program end, and post-program interview excerpts and survey data of RIFDI participants. Details impacts of RIFDI on rural clinician-educators and broader rural health workforce recruitment and retention.
Author(s): Sarah Keithly, Paige Perry, Erica J. Ho, et al.
Citation: BMC Medical Education, 26, 215
Date: 01/2026
view details
Iowa Rural Obstetrical Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the obstetricians and advanced practice midwives workforce distribution in Iowa 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: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Offers maps and tables of the obstetricians and advanced practice midwives workforce distribution in Iowa 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: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Iowa Rural Primary Care Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Iowa 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: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Offers maps and tables of the primary care workforce distribution in Iowa 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: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Iowa Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the supply and distribution of behavioral health clinicians in Iowa 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: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Offers maps and tables of the supply and distribution of behavioral health clinicians in Iowa 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: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Advancing Diagnostic Excellence in Rural Areas: Proceedings of a Workshop—in Brief
Summarizes proceedings from an October 2025 workshop discussing current diagnostic challenges in rural areas and identifying strategies for improvement. Covers topics including access to diagnosis, diagnosis-related health disparities, new technologies and innovations, workforce training, education, and support, and other innovations in diagnosis and patient-centered care.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
Summarizes proceedings from an October 2025 workshop discussing current diagnostic challenges in rural areas and identifying strategies for improvement. Covers topics including access to diagnosis, diagnosis-related health disparities, new technologies and innovations, workforce training, education, and support, and other innovations in diagnosis and patient-centered care.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details
Ensuring a Strong Future for America's Cancer Workforce: A Report from the President's Cancer Panel to the President of the United States
Identifies priorities and provides recommendations to support the cancer workforce, improve access to clinical trials, and promote high-quality research in the United States. Discusses the rural cancer care workforce and other factors influencing rural access to care throughout.
Author(s): Mitchel S. Berger, Carol L. Brown
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: President's Cancer Panel
view details
Identifies priorities and provides recommendations to support the cancer workforce, improve access to clinical trials, and promote high-quality research in the United States. Discusses the rural cancer care workforce and other factors influencing rural access to care throughout.
Author(s): Mitchel S. Berger, Carol L. Brown
Date: 01/2026
Sponsoring organization: President's Cancer Panel
view details
Doula Services for Medicaid Beneficiaries in Virginia: Access, Utilization, and Policy Lessons
Discusses barriers and facilitators of access to doula care for Medicaid beneficiaries in Virginia after evaluation of a collection of both qualitative and quantitative data gathered between January 2022 and January 2025. Discusses geographic disparities including concerns for access in rural areas and policies to address access.
Author(s): Desirae Leaphart Mensah, Alison E. Cuellar
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(1)
Date: 01/2026
view details
Discusses barriers and facilitators of access to doula care for Medicaid beneficiaries in Virginia after evaluation of a collection of both qualitative and quantitative data gathered between January 2022 and January 2025. Discusses geographic disparities including concerns for access in rural areas and policies to address access.
Author(s): Desirae Leaphart Mensah, Alison E. Cuellar
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(1)
Date: 01/2026
view details
Evaluating Rural Healthcare Workforce Programs: Applying Modified Whole-of-Person Retention Improvement Framework in VHA Programs
Examines gaps in recruitment and retention programs in addressing workforce shortages in rural areas. Uses the Veterans Health Administration's 2023 Rural Recruitment and Hiring Plan and aims to identify gaps by applying a modified whole-of-person retention improvement framework.
Author(s): Meghan R. Longacre, Linda M. Kinney, Kathleen L. Carluzzo, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(1), e70115
Date: 01/2026
view details
Examines gaps in recruitment and retention programs in addressing workforce shortages in rural areas. Uses the Veterans Health Administration's 2023 Rural Recruitment and Hiring Plan and aims to identify gaps by applying a modified whole-of-person retention improvement framework.
Author(s): Meghan R. Longacre, Linda M. Kinney, Kathleen L. Carluzzo, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 42(1), e70115
Date: 01/2026
view details