Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health workforce

Alabama Maternity Care Target Areas (MCTA)
County-level map showing high-need, primary care Health Professional Shortage Areas meeting specific criteria based on ratio of females ages 15-44 to maternity care providers, low-income women, distance/travel time to care, fertility rates, social vulnerability, and maternal health indicators.
Date: 06/2024
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Alabama Office of Primary Care and Rural Health
view details
Health Disparities in Tennessee
Examines health disparities experienced by Tennessee residents. Measures include life expectancy, health equity, healthcare access, mental health and trauma, infectious disease, chronic disease, cancer, reproductive health, and age-specific health. Features statistics with breakdowns by race, ethnicity, gender, and urban or rural location.
Date: 05/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
view details
Meeting Essential Health Services And Reimagining Obstetrics In A Rural Community
Case study profiling Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH) in rural Washington. Describes how KVH implemented a new staffing model to maintain essential obstetrics and gynecological care.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
San Luis Valley Hospital Delivers When Families Need Obstetric Care
Podcast episode describing challenges with offering obstetric care in rural Colorado. Discusses services offered, cross-training, behavioral health and substance use, and social determinants of health. Offers strategies for other hospitals offering maternal healthcare. Transcript is below the audio player.
Date: 04/2024
Type: Audio
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Obstetric Imaging Practice Characteristics Associated with Prenatal Detection of Critical Congenital Heart Disease in a Rural US Region over 20 Years
Analyzes practice characteristics associated with frequency of prenatal critical congenital heart disease (CCHD) detection from 2002-2021 at a tertiary academic hospital and 11 low-volume, rural hospitals providing obstetric services in rural areas of Vermont and New York. Provides data on CCHD detection frequency by practice type, patient volume, and physician or sonographer specialty. Includes additional data on changes in CCHD detection frequency over time.
Author(s): Kelley C. McLean, Marjorie C. Meyer, Sarah R. Peters, et al.
Citation: Prenatal Diagnosis, 44(6-7), 698-705
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
view details
Maternal Health in Rural America
White paper describing factors contributing to rural maternal health disparities, including financial barriers to providing obstetric services at rural hospitals, maternal health workforce shortages, access to care, and quality of care. Outlines policy considerations to increase access to maternal health services in rural areas.
Author(s): Hailey Waldman, Alexandra Zimmerman
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
view details
Kansas Center for Rural Health: Maternal Care Mapping Project
A recorded webinar describing a project that aims to map obstetric providers, facilities providing obstetric care, and mental health providers in Kansas. Provides data on 2021 live births and female residents per county.
Author(s): Karen Weis, Udana Urceo, Danielle Ast, Amy Garcia, Alexander Alsup
Date: 02/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Nursing Workforce Center
view details
Needs Assessment of the Obstetric Workforce in Maine's Rural Hospitals
Report assessing the workforce needs for 15 hospitals with obstetrics units in rural Maine. Offers a SWOT Analysis and discusses factors contributing to sustainability of the workforce, community characteristics impacting the workforce, recruitment and retention challenges, and training challenges. Offers recommendations at the state, regional, health system, hospital, and unit level.
Author(s): Brianna Keefe-Oates, Katherine Simmonds, Louisa H. Smith, Jeni Stolow
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: MaineHealth, Roux Institute, The Maine Rural Maternity & Obstetrics Management Strategies Network
view details
Closing the Gap: How a Community Effort Can Improve Rural Maternity Care
Case study of a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) that increased access to maternal healthcare in rural North Carolina by opening a maternity care center. Discusses recruitment and retention of healthcare professionals and collaboration among healthcare organizations in the community.
Author(s): Jesus Ruiz
Citation: Annals of Family Medicine, 22(1), 68
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
view details
2024 Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota
Report examining economic opportunity, safety, health and wellness, and leadership equality among women and girls in Minnesota based on data from the American Community Survey, Minnesota Student Survey, and other sources. Highlights disparities in healthcare access, food security, and environmental health for rural populations.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Date: 2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Center on Women, Gender and Public Policy, University of Minnesota, Women's Foundation of Minnesota
view details