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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health workforce

Access to Rural Maternity Care
Policy paper describing obstetric care for rural women in the U.S. Covers challenges to providing access to rural maternity care, such as healthcare quality, birth outcomes, workforce shortages, access, and financial challenges. Includes discussion on policy alternatives and considerations to address workforce issues, barriers to practicing obstetrics in rural areas, and increasing access to maternity care services.
Author(s): Britta Anderson, Adam Gingery, Maeve McClellan, et al.
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Supporting Family Physician Maternity Care Providers
Summarizes strategies, provides suggestions, and examines the role family physicians play in providing maternity care to the underserved. Also presents ideas for training and retaining family physician maternity care providers in rural areas.
Author(s): Jessica Taylor Goldstein, Scott G. Hartman, Matthew R. Meunier, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 50(9), 662-671
Date: 10/2018
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Analysis of Indiana's Primary Care Physicians Providing Obstetric Services
Quantifies and describes the Indiana primary care physicians who report providing some level of obstetric care. Includes county-level maps with data on infant mortality rates from 2012-2016 and access to prenatal, labor and delivery, postnatal, and comprehensive obstetric services, with shadings indicating rural counties.
Author(s): Hannah Maxey, Sierra Vaughn, Courtney Randolph
Date: 09/2018
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Strengthening the Workforce to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes in Rural Areas
Highlights rural workforce initiatives related to maternity and childbirth services and discusses strategies to improve rural pregnancy outcomes. Features a training program at a Critical Access Hospital in Alaska and a rural OB-GYN residency program in Wisconsin.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2018
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Case Study: High-Tech OB Simulation Training Educates OB Teams, Improves Quality of Rural Health Care
Reports on a pilot obstetrics simulation training program intended to help rural family physicians and obstetric care teams recognize and react to complications related to pregnancy, initially focusing on hemorrhaging. Identifies planned quality improvement measures resulting from the training and includes program contact information. Program targeted 12 rural hospitals in Nebraska.
Date: 2018
Sponsoring organizations: Bryan Health, Heartland Health Alliance
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New Partner Recruitment to Rural Versus Urban Ob-Gyn Practices: A Survey of Practicing Ob-Gyns
Discusses the results of a survey of obstetrics and gynecology practices in rural and urban areas located in 5 Northwestern states to examine their recruitment efforts. Information and data about their background, practice setting, partner recruitment, and retention was collected and analyzed, with comparisons noted between rural, suburban, and urban providers.
Author(s): Michael F. Fialkow, Carrie M. Snead, Jay Schulkin
Citation: Health Services Research and Managerial Epidemiology, 2017(4)
Date: 2017
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Maternity Care Services Provided by Family Physicians in Rural Hospitals
Describes current supply of maternal care providers in 437 rural hospitals, including statistics on cesarean delivery rates and provision of services, hospital size, community size, and requirements for procedural privileges.
Author(s): Richard A. Young
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 30(1), 71-77
Date: 2017
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Why Are Obstetric Units in Rural Hospitals Closing Their Doors?
Examines factors associated with obstetric unit closure based on a mixed methods study of rural hospitals in 9 states between 2010 and 2014. Addresses hospital characteristics such as accreditation, ownership, and Critical Access Hospital status; distance to next closest hospital with obstetric services; and county-level characteristics including health workforce supply.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Katy B. Kozhimannil, Michelle M. Casey, Ira S. Moscovice
Citation: Health Services Research, 51(4), 1546-1560
Date: 08/2016
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State Variations in the Rural Obstetric Workforce
Illustrates the challenges affecting the obstetric workforce in Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and other rural hospitals having at least 10 births in 2010 by analyzing data derived from a telephone survey conducted in 9 states. Includes data for each state on hospital and provider characteristics, and services provided for labor and delivery.
Author(s): Peiyin Hung, Katy B. Kozhimannil, Michelle M. Casey, Carrie Henning-Smith, Shailendra Prasad
Date: 05/2016
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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The Rural Obstetric Workforce in US Hospitals: Challenges and Opportunities
Details a study of the obstetric workforce and access to obstetric services in rural areas. Analyzes the results of a survey of 306 rural hospitals across the U.S. from November 2013 - March 2014. Discusses possible policy and training modifications for rural hospitals based on the study's conclusions.
Author(s): Katy B. Kozhimannil, Michelle M. Casey, Peiyin Hung, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 31(4), 365-372
Date: 10/2015
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