Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health workforce
Obstetric Readiness in Rural Communities Lacking Hospital Labor and Delivery Units
Policy brief discussing the current rural maternal healthcare workforce and their capacity to manage obstetric emergencies during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Offers recommendations to promote obstetric readiness for emergency care in rural hospitals without obstetric units and support for community-based, emergency department-adjacent health workers.
Author(s): Eneka Lamb, Madeline Merwin, Quinyatta Mumford, et al.
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Policy brief discussing the current rural maternal healthcare workforce and their capacity to manage obstetric emergencies during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Offers recommendations to promote obstetric readiness for emergency care in rural hospitals without obstetric units and support for community-based, emergency department-adjacent health workers.
Author(s): Eneka Lamb, Madeline Merwin, Quinyatta Mumford, et al.
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Project SOAR: Simulation-Based Training to Support Emergent Obstetric Capacity & Care in Rural Hospitals
Webinar highlighting the creation of a Texas based academic-rural health partnership providing training for rural nurses in emergent obstetric care. Discusses maternal care statistics in rural Texas and the benefits of community-based participatory research. See video description for transcript.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: University of Texas at Arlington Center for Rural Health and Nursing
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Webinar highlighting the creation of a Texas based academic-rural health partnership providing training for rural nurses in emergent obstetric care. Discusses maternal care statistics in rural Texas and the benefits of community-based participatory research. See video description for transcript.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: University of Texas at Arlington Center for Rural Health and Nursing
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Understanding and Overcoming Barriers to Rural Obstetric Training for Family Physicians
Reports findings from a mixed-methods study on the availability and characteristics of obstetric (OB) training in rural family medicine residency programs, as well as the barriers to and facilitators of rural OB training.
Author(s): Erin Fredrickson, David V. Evans, Sara Woolcock, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 55(6), 381-388
Date: 2023
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Reports findings from a mixed-methods study on the availability and characteristics of obstetric (OB) training in rural family medicine residency programs, as well as the barriers to and facilitators of rural OB training.
Author(s): Erin Fredrickson, David V. Evans, Sara Woolcock, et al.
Citation: Family Medicine, 55(6), 381-388
Date: 2023
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Maternal Mortality in Indiana (2022): Contributing Factors and Policy Recommendations
Discusses causes of maternal mortality and related data in Indiana and the U.S. at large. Includes information on disparities with a focus on rural areas, demographics, and access to maternal health services. Provides county-level map of Indiana showing ratio of county population to obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYN) specialists.
Author(s): Nidhi Arun, Vatsla Sharma, Elizabeth Thuranira
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Indiana University Public Policy Institute
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Discusses causes of maternal mortality and related data in Indiana and the U.S. at large. Includes information on disparities with a focus on rural areas, demographics, and access to maternal health services. Provides county-level map of Indiana showing ratio of county population to obstetrician-gynecologists (OB/GYN) specialists.
Author(s): Nidhi Arun, Vatsla Sharma, Elizabeth Thuranira
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Indiana University Public Policy Institute
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Maternal Health: Availability of Hospital-Based Obstetric Care in Rural Areas
Explores the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas. Summarizes stakeholder perspectives on the factors affecting the availability of these services and on the efforts federal agencies, states, and others could take to increase the access to obstetric care. Highlights six programs identified by researchers and provider associations as effective at increasing obstetric care in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Explores the availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas. Summarizes stakeholder perspectives on the factors affecting the availability of these services and on the efforts federal agencies, states, and others could take to increase the access to obstetric care. Highlights six programs identified by researchers and provider associations as effective at increasing obstetric care in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2022
Explores maternal healthcare access and provides county-level U.S. maps that show maternity care deserts, hospitals and birth centers that offer obstetric (OB) care, distribution of OB providers, percentage of women without health insurance, percentage of births covered by Medicaid, and more. Includes rural versus urban characteristics of maternity care deserts as well as access and policy discussions specific to rural areas.
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Explores maternal healthcare access and provides county-level U.S. maps that show maternity care deserts, hospitals and birth centers that offer obstetric (OB) care, distribution of OB providers, percentage of women without health insurance, percentage of births covered by Medicaid, and more. Includes rural versus urban characteristics of maternity care deserts as well as access and policy discussions specific to rural areas.
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Family Physicians and Maternal Health in Rural America, with Julie Wood and Zita Magloire
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Dr. Julie Wood, senior vice president of research, science and health of the public at the American Academy of Family Physicians, and Dr. Zita Magloire, a practicing family physician in Cairo, Georgia. Focuses on rural family physicians and the challenges and joys of providing maternal care in rural areas.
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Dr. Julie Wood, senior vice president of research, science and health of the public at the American Academy of Family Physicians, and Dr. Zita Magloire, a practicing family physician in Cairo, Georgia. Focuses on rural family physicians and the challenges and joys of providing maternal care in rural areas.
Date: 10/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Obstetricians, Gynecologists, and Maternal Health in Rural America, with Anne Banfield
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Dr. Anne Banfield, physician administrative and clinical director at Women's Health at Leonardtown in Maryland, and member of the foundation board of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Discusses the rural OBGYN workforce and the challenges of providing maternal care in rural areas.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Dr. Anne Banfield, physician administrative and clinical director at Women's Health at Leonardtown in Maryland, and member of the foundation board of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Discusses the rural OBGYN workforce and the challenges of providing maternal care in rural areas.
Date: 09/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Access to Maternity and Obstetric Care in Rural Pennsylvania
Examines access to maternity care in rural Pennsylvania, using federal- and state-level data to determine the distribution of birthing facilities and birth attendants. Includes a workforce analysis to forecast the supply of and demand for care providers and to identify gaps where supply will not meet demand. Provides a survey of stakeholders and key informants, to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and solutions to improving access to maternity care.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sharon Bernecki DeJoy, David J. Doorn
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Examines access to maternity care in rural Pennsylvania, using federal- and state-level data to determine the distribution of birthing facilities and birth attendants. Includes a workforce analysis to forecast the supply of and demand for care providers and to identify gaps where supply will not meet demand. Provides a survey of stakeholders and key informants, to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, and solutions to improving access to maternity care.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Sharon Bernecki DeJoy, David J. Doorn
Date: 04/2022
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Pandemic Increases Pressure on Rural Hospitals & Communities: Vulnerability, Health Inequity and Staffing Crisis Amplified in Pandemic's Third Year
Examines the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Discusses disparities between rural and urban communities and communities with hospitals vulnerable to closure. Describes the benefits of COVID-19 relief funding on rural hospitals and how scheduled reimbursement cuts and staffing shortages could impact hospitals' financial stability. Also discusses how staffing shortages impact access to obstetrics and chemotherapy care in rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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Examines the stability of the rural healthcare safety net. Discusses disparities between rural and urban communities and communities with hospitals vulnerable to closure. Describes the benefits of COVID-19 relief funding on rural hospitals and how scheduled reimbursement cuts and staffing shortages could impact hospitals' financial stability. Also discusses how staffing shortages impact access to obstetrics and chemotherapy care in rural areas.
Date: 02/2022
Sponsoring organization: Chartis Center for Rural Health
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