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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Recruitment and retention of health professionals

Examining Existing Federal Programs to Build a Stronger Health Workforce and Improve Primary Care
Recording of an April 2023 U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health hearing on federal government programs and legislation related to supporting the healthcare workforce and improving primary care. Features testimony from Carole Johnson, the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Includes discussions on the rural health workforce throughout.
Additional links: Carole Johnson, Health Resources and Services Administration - Testimony
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Health
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Rewards and Frustrations of Rural Surgery Practice
Discusses challenges in rural surgery practice, such as demographic trends, workforce shortages, issues with surgical training, rural hospital closures, and economic pressures. Includes a link to video featuring Michael Sarap and Alisha D. Reiss, of the American College of Surgeons.
Author(s): Michael Sarap, Alisha D. Reiss
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: American College of Surgeons
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Linkages Between Rural Community Capitals and Healthcare Provision: A Survey of Small Rural Towns in Three U.S. Regions
Identifies community-level factors affecting the recruitment and retention of rural healthcare professionals through key informant interviews and a survey of healthcare professionals in 9 states across three regions: the Lower Mississippi Delta, the Southern Great Plains, and the Upper Midwest. Explores how the importance of these factors varies across regions and types of healthcare professionals and whether the importance of these factors differs between recruitment and retention.
Additional links: Report Summary
Author(s): John Pender, Maria Kuhns, Cindy Yu, Janice Larson, Shirley Huck
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: USDA Economic Research Service
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Health Care's Role in Rural Economic Development: Addressing Health Workforce Needs
Policy brief exploring how rural healthcare can impact local economic and community development. Offers recommended policies and actions to support rural workforce development and community development.
Author(s): Nicole Carritt
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Retaining Rural Health Care Professionals: Strategies to Reduce Burnout
Policy position paper regarding burnout among health professionals. Provides an overview of burnout among healthcare professionals and offers policy recommendations to support healthcare providers locally and positively impact the recruitment and retention of these providers.
Author(s): Victoria Reid, Michael Seward, Thad Shunkwiler
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Examining Health Care Workforce Shortages: Where Do We Go From Here?
Recording of a February 16, 2023, U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on healthcare provider shortages. Includes discussion of shortages in rural areas, including rural nurses. Features testimonies by representatives of the University of New England, Meharry Medical College, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Ochsner Health, and Dartmouth College.
Additional links: Douglas Staiger, Dartmouth College - Testimony, James E.K. Hildreth, Sr., Meharry Medical College - Testimony, James Herbert, University of New England - Testimony, Leonardo Seoane, Ochsner Health - Testimony
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Building the Future Behavioral Health Workforce: California Needs Assessment
Provides an overview of California's behavioral health workforce, such as the health professions education pipeline and recruitment and retention of the workforce. Includes county-level data on the ratio of licensed behavioral health professionals per 100,000 residents in Table B.2.
Author(s): Janet Coffman, Margaret Fix
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: County Behavioral Health Directors Association - California
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Identifying Bottlenecks and Roadblocks in the Rural Mental Health Career Pipeline
Examines behavioral health workforce shortages in rural Minnesota, issues of access, acceptability and stigma around utilizing mental health professionals, recruiting and retaining behavioral workforce, struggles around education and internship opportunities, and more. Includes data related to the Minnesota behavioral workforce and associated issues such as poverty, suicide rates, rural versus urban provider comparisons, and more.
Additional links: Summary, Webinar
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Center for Rural Behavioral Health, Minnesota State University - Mankato, Center for Rural Policy and Development
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Critical Access Hospital Workforce During COVID-19: Barriers and Facilitators for Recruiting and Retaining Staff
Presents findings from a survey of Critical Access Hospital (CAH) executives regarding the specific types of staff positions they have had challenges recruiting and retaining. Compares results by system affiliation. Discusses the barriers and facilitators to recruiting and retaining hospital staff.
Author(s): Madeleine Pick, Megan Lahr
Date: 02/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Arkansas Health Workforce Projections: 2021-2035
Report outlining the current non-physician healthcare workforce shortages in Arkansas, projections through 2035, and recommendations to address supply and demand issues. Recommendations include discussion of the workforce pipeline, retention, exploring models of care, distribution of workforce, data collection, and policy. Discusses rural throughout.
Date: 01/2023
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Hospital Association
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