Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce
Health Professional Shortage Areas: Mental Health
Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan mental health HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan mental health HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Mental Health HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Printable map that shows nonmetropolitan and micropolitan mental health HPSAs on one color scale and metropolitan mental health HPSAs on another. Data source: data.HRSA.gov
Additional links: Mental Health HPSA Table
Date: 10/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Beneficiary and Clinician Perspectives on Medicare and Other Issues: Findings from 2026 Focus Groups in Select States, and 2021–2026 Rural Focus Groups
Summarizes findings from 21 focus groups of Medicare beneficiaries, Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligible) beneficiaries, and clinicians conducted between May and June 2026, including one virtual focus group of rural Medicare beneficiaries. Compiles findings from 14 focus groups of rural Medicare beneficiaries between 2021 and 2026. Highlights themes that emerged across the focus groups covering Medicare coverage options, access to care, telehealth, and prescription drugs.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Summarizes findings from 21 focus groups of Medicare beneficiaries, Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligible) beneficiaries, and clinicians conducted between May and June 2026, including one virtual focus group of rural Medicare beneficiaries. Compiles findings from 14 focus groups of rural Medicare beneficiaries between 2021 and 2026. Highlights themes that emerged across the focus groups covering Medicare coverage options, access to care, telehealth, and prescription drugs.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Pharmacists' Perspectives on Current Issues in Pharmacy and Medicare: Findings from 2026 Virtual Focus Groups
Summarizes findings from three focus groups of pharmacists who serve Medicare beneficiaries in outpatient settings in 2026. Covers topics related to pharmacist workload and patient access to pharmacy care, including pharmacists' daily responsibilities, reimbursement rates, drug stocking and shortages, pharmacy closures, labor market conditions, pharmacist well-being, and more. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, NORC at the University of Chicago
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Summarizes findings from three focus groups of pharmacists who serve Medicare beneficiaries in outpatient settings in 2026. Covers topics related to pharmacist workload and patient access to pharmacy care, including pharmacists' daily responsibilities, reimbursement rates, drug stocking and shortages, pharmacy closures, labor market conditions, pharmacist well-being, and more. Includes rural references throughout.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, NORC at the University of Chicago
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2026 Maine Healthcare Occupations Report
Data and analysis of the Maine healthcare workforce. Includes demographics and workforce distribution by county. Features numbers of healthcare workers in various occupations as of 2025 and projected need by 2034.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Workforce Research and Information, Maine Department of Labor
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Data and analysis of the Maine healthcare workforce. Includes demographics and workforce distribution by county. Features numbers of healthcare workers in various occupations as of 2025 and projected need by 2034.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Workforce Research and Information, Maine Department of Labor
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Sanders Announces $54.6 Million Awarded in Rural Health Transformation Funds
Announces recipients of funding through two initiatives as part of the first year of the Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program: Healthy Eating, Active Recreation & Transformation (HEART) and Recruitment, Innovation Skills, and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR). Describes each awarded project, its service area, and funding amount.
Additional links: List of Organization and Award Amounts - RISE AR and HEART
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Office of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
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Announces recipients of funding through two initiatives as part of the first year of the Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program: Healthy Eating, Active Recreation & Transformation (HEART) and Recruitment, Innovation Skills, and Education for Arkansas (RISE AR). Describes each awarded project, its service area, and funding amount.
Additional links: List of Organization and Award Amounts - RISE AR and HEART
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: Office of Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders
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Physician Transitions out of Clinical Practice: Age, Sex, Generational, and Specialty Effects
Analyzes licensure data to identify demographic, specialty, and geographic associations with retirement or temporary exit from clinical practice among 74,271 North Carolina physicians between 2005 and 2024.
Author(s): Erin Fraher
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(10)
Date: 09/2026
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Analyzes licensure data to identify demographic, specialty, and geographic associations with retirement or temporary exit from clinical practice among 74,271 North Carolina physicians between 2005 and 2024.
Author(s): Erin Fraher
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(10)
Date: 09/2026
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Wisconsin State Opioid Response 4 Year Two: Statewide Annual Report
Provides information on the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) grant awarded in 2024 and focused on expanding access to treatment and recovery services for opioid and stimulant use disorder in Wisconsin, supporting training of peer support services, increasing the number of providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and raising awareness related to OUD. Utilizes data from clients who completed the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) GPRA Client Outcome Measures tool from 2025 to 2026 and reports on treatment needs, recovery, telehealth, and recovery housing. Compares client experiences in rural versus urban counties.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
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Provides information on the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) grant awarded in 2024 and focused on expanding access to treatment and recovery services for opioid and stimulant use disorder in Wisconsin, supporting training of peer support services, increasing the number of providers offering medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), and raising awareness related to OUD. Utilizes data from clients who completed the State Opioid Response 4 (SOR-4) GPRA Client Outcome Measures tool from 2025 to 2026 and reports on treatment needs, recovery, telehealth, and recovery housing. Compares client experiences in rural versus urban counties.
Date: 09/2026
Sponsoring organization: University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute
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Sociodemographic Characteristics of Nurses Entering and Leaving the US Nursing Workforce in 2018 and 2022
Describes the characteristics and job dynamics of the nursing workforce before and after the pandemic, including nurses entering and leaving the workforce. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by rural and nonrural area for the 2022 data set.
Additional links: Video Abstract
Author(s): Kyla F. Woodward, Sue Skillman, Bianca K. Frogner
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(9), qxag248
Date: 09/2026
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Describes the characteristics and job dynamics of the nursing workforce before and after the pandemic, including nurses entering and leaving the workforce. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by rural and nonrural area for the 2022 data set.
Additional links: Video Abstract
Author(s): Kyla F. Woodward, Sue Skillman, Bianca K. Frogner
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 4(9), qxag248
Date: 09/2026
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North Carolina Rural Health and Opportunities for Transformation
Issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal, containing articles describing successes in North Carolina rural health and ways in which obstacles are being addressed. Topics include data collection, graduate medical education, emergency care, affordability, the Rural Health Transformation Program, AI, and more.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 87(3)
Date: 09/2026
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Issue of the North Carolina Medical Journal, containing articles describing successes in North Carolina rural health and ways in which obstacles are being addressed. Topics include data collection, graduate medical education, emergency care, affordability, the Rural Health Transformation Program, AI, and more.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 87(3)
Date: 09/2026
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Growing the Rural Physician Workforce Through Graduate Medical Education
Describes ways in which state and federal initiatives are working to expand rural medical training in North Carolina. Features statistics on physician residency programs with rural and community health center sites from 2008-2024.
Author(s): Emily M. Hawes, Mukesh Adhikari, Mark Holmes, et al.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 87(3)
Date: 09/2026
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Describes ways in which state and federal initiatives are working to expand rural medical training in North Carolina. Features statistics on physician residency programs with rural and community health center sites from 2008-2024.
Author(s): Emily M. Hawes, Mukesh Adhikari, Mark Holmes, et al.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 87(3)
Date: 09/2026
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