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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce

The State of Health in New Mexico 2018
Describes the health status for the population of New Mexico in rural and urban areas. Provides statistics on multiple health indicators, such as socioeconomic status, maternal and child health, chronic disease, substance use, and injury, among others.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Department of Health
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Shortage of Rural Surgeons: How Bad Is It?
Features information on supply and demand in the rural surgery workforce, including reasons for current and expected shortages or maldistribution of surgeons. Explains the difficulties in interpreting available data, and offers ideas for accurately assessing surgical needs in rural areas.
Author(s): Mark W. Puls
Citation: Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons, 103(4), 52-55
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
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Physician Assistants: Modernize Laws to Improve Rural Access
National Rural Health Association policy paper describing benefits to rural communities when practice barriers are removed and payments are sufficient to attract physician assistants to the area. Includes recommendations to help achieve this goal.
Author(s): Roger Wells, Megan Cody, Robert Alpino, Melissa Van Dyne, Ross Abbott, et al.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Health Center Dental Employment Frequently Asked Questions
Provides information on health center employment for dental health professionals considering work in this setting.
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Network for Oral Health Access
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Leveraging Health Care Reform to Accelerate Nurse Practitioner Full Practice Authority
Presents a descriptive study of legislation from 1994 to 2016 impacting the scope of practice for nurse practitioners (NPs). Discusses how supporting full practice authority (FPA) where physician involvement is not required can lessen the concern over the lack of primary care providers by allowing NPs to offer comprehensive healthcare services to rural and vulnerable patients. Identifies barriers and limitations to FPA.
Author(s): Heather M. Brom, Pamela J. Salsberry, Margaret Clark Graham
Citation: Journal of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, 30(3), 120-130
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
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Indiana Primary Care Needs Assessment, 2018
Summary of efforts to identify gaps in access to health care and allocate resources to communities in greatest need, from 2015-2017. Includes trends in Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations in Indiana, the preliminary HPSA analysis summary, projected need of providers in Indiana counties, and health rankings within Indiana.
Author(s): Analise Dickinson, Sierra Vaughn, Hannah Maxey
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Promising Practice: Utah SORH Saves Rural Hospital by Obtaining GDSA Certification
Illustrates how the Utah Office of Primary Care and Rural Health found a solution to maintain Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) status for a Rural Health Clinic (RHC), in the process of being built but in danger of losing its federal designation, by applying for a Governor's Designated Shortage Area (GDSA) status.
Author(s): Beth Blevins
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
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Minnesota Oral Health Workforce: Trends & Pipeline Incentives
Provides information on the oral health workforce and access to oral healthcare in Minnesota. Discusses dental Health Profession Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and covers a dentist to population ratio by rurality. Describes oral health trends in Minnesota.
Author(s): Nitika Moibi, Deb Jahnke
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health - Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
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Expanding Care for Rural Patients
Discusses the telehealth psychology program at Texas A&M and the effect the program has had on mental health access across the state. Details the program's implementation and the ways it is overcoming barriers for rural people.
Author(s): Amy Novotney
Citation: APA Monitor on Psychology, 49(3), 64
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Psychological Association
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Physician Workforce: HHS Needs Better Information to Comprehensively Evaluate Graduate Medical Education Funding
Describes what is known about Graduate Medical Education (GME) costs, including the amount, type, and distribution of spending, and examines the extent to which the federal government collects GME-related information. Includes statistics on federal spending on GME in 2015, and information on which GME payment programs track whether residents are from rural areas, received training in rural areas, or went on to practice in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): James Cosgrove, William Hadley, Christine Brudevold, Katherine Mack, A. Elizabeth Dobrenz, et al.
Date: 03/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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