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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Maternal health workforce

State Strategies to Address Opioid Use Disorder Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Infants Prenatally Exposed to Substances, Including Infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Identifies state strategies to improve outcomes for pregnant and postpartum women with opioid use disorder and infants prenatally exposed to substances, including opioids. Discusses strategies focused on access to and coordination of quality services, including approaches such as telemedicine that are useful in rural areas. Also discusses strategies related to provider awareness and training and other topics.
Author(s): Charlan D. Kroelinger, Marion E. Rice, Shanna Cox, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 68(36), 777-783
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Rural America Has a Maternal Mortality Problem. Midwives Might Help Solve It.
Highlights the role of certified professional midwives in providing access to maternal and newborn care using an example from an Amish area of Tennessee. Discusses differences in state policies and integration with local health systems. Includes a map identifying maternal mortality rates by state.
Author(s): April Simpson
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Pew Charitable Trusts
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Rural Health Research Recap: Rural Obstetric Services: Access, Workforce, and Impact
Summarizes recent research by Rural Health Research Centers on access to obstetrics (OB) care in rural areas, the rural OB workforce, and the impact of limited OB access for rural counties. Includes a map showing hospital OB services in rural counties, where they have closed from 2004-2014, and a chart with the percent of clinicians by type attending deliveries in rural hospitals.
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Research Gateway
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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
Type: Document
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
Type: Document
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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
Type: Document
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
Type: Document
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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
Type: Document
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
Type: Document
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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
Type: Document
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