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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

The Impact of Nurse Practitioner Scope-of-Practice Regulations in Primary Care
Examines the current and projected role of nurse practitioners (NPs) in rural and primary care settings, and discusses how changes in scope-of-practice (SOP) regulations for NPs may help alleviate healthcare access issues caused by a limited supply of physicians.
Author(s): Aziza Arifkhanova
Date: 2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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Examining Substance Use Disorder Treatment Demand and Provider Capacity in a Changing Health Care System: Final Report
Assesses demand and capacity for substance use disorder treatment, with comparisons between years 2013 and 2016. Features statistics including numbers of clients, staff hours, percentage of facilities offering pharmacotherapies and accepting various insurance types, and distribution of specialty treatments, with breakdowns by urban and rural locations.
Additional links: In Focus Brief, May 2018
Author(s): Ellen Bouchery
Date: 12/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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Strategic Plan: Oral Health in Kentucky
Outlines the strategic plan for the Kentucky Oral Health Program. Includes county-level maps showing the distribution of general dentists and dentists who accept Medicaid, and discussion on how to reduce oral health disparities among rural and underserved populations. Covers policy initiatives to support oral healthcare and providers in rural areas.
Date: 12/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, Department for Public Health, Division of Maternal and Child Health
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Evaluation of a Potential New Health Sciences School at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke to Meet the Needs of the Region and State
Results of a study exploring the feasibility of establishing a School of Health Sciences and Health Care in Robeson County, a rural high-poverty area ranked among the worst for health outcomes in North Carolina in 2016. Features statistics on the North Carolina workforce and education programs in optometry, occupational therapy, nutrition and dietetics, as well as physician assistants and nurse practitioners.
Author(s): Julie C. Spero, Thomas J. Bacon, Evan M. Galloway, et al.
Date: 12/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Inpatient Healthcare Facilities Had Modest Employment Gains in Rural Areas, Despite the Effects of the Great Recession
Line chart showing employment in rural inpatient healthcare facilities compared to other industries from 2001 to 2015.
Date: 12/2017
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Examination of Community Health Workers in Rural Pennsylvania
Assesses the extent to which Community Health Workers (CHWs) are used in rural Pennsylvania to address the healthcare needs of underserved people. Includes statistics on CHW salaries, caseloads, hours of paid work, health outcomes, demographic characteristics, and training and certification.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Darlene Ardary, Jennifer DellAntonio, Joyce Du Gan, et al.
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Staff Sharing Arrangements for Local Public Health
Describes several case studies of local public health organizations' arrangements for sharing health directors, physicians, nurses, inspectors, social workers, or administration staff. Includes descriptions of such arrangements in public health agencies in rural areas of Webster County, Iowa and in 3 adjacent northwestern Oregon counties with a mixture of urban, suburban, and rural areas.
Author(s): Gerald Young, Joshua Franzel
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center for State & Local Government Excellence, Public Health Accreditation Board Center for Innovation
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Assessing the Impact of Washington State's Oral Health Workforce on Patient Access to Care
Examines the oral health workforce and access to oral care in Washington state. Includes information on workforce demographics, rural and urban distribution of oral health providers, and difficulty recruiting dental hygienists and assistants in rural areas. Provides recommendations, policy changes, and potential solutions offered by oral health workforce interviewees.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Davis G. Patterson, C. Holly A. Andrilla, Malaika R. Schwartz, Lisa Hager, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 11/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Psychiatry Distribution in Georgia as of 2015
Reports on the characteristics of psychiatrists in Georgia for the year 2015, including supply, distribution, and demographics. Provides data on psychiatrists practicing in metropolitan versus nonmetropolitan areas, and includes a map showing counties without psychiatrists.
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Board of Health Care Workforce
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Barriers and Solutions to the Single Accreditation System: A Survey Study of AOA Family Medicine Residency Program Directors
Results of a survey designed to assess attitudes, confidence, and progress of American Osteopathic Association family medicine residencies during the transition to a Single Accreditation System (SAS). Discusses concerns about the effects of SAS on the primary care workforce in rural settings.
Author(s): Julie Petersen Marcinek, Megan Coffman, Zachary Levin, Winston Liaw, Andrew Bazemore
Date: 10/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Robert Graham Center
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