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Rural Health Information Hub

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

Mental Health in Rural Areas
Policy position paper focused on mental health in rural areas. Discusses barriers and policy recommendations regarding the availability, access, and acceptability of mental health care in rural communities.
Author(s): Brenda Mack, Heather Whetsell, Janessa M. Graves
Date: 02/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Recruiting, Revitalizing & Diversifying: Examining the Health Care Workforce Shortage
Recording of February 10, 2022 testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, offering recommendations for strategies to alleviate anticipated shortages in the healthcare workforce, including in rural areas. Features testimonies by representatives of the National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training Consortium, Xavier University of Louisiana, the National Institute for Medical Assistant Advancement, and the Heritage Foundation.
Additional links: C. Reynold Verret Testimony, Margaret Flinter Testimony, Norma Quinones Testimony, Rachel Greszler Testimony
Date: 02/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
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Longitudinal Assessment of a Dental and Medical Student Service Program in Appalachia: Successes and Lessons Learned
Results of a study exploring a West Virginia University Institute for Community and Rural Health service scholarship program implemented in 2011 to address a lack of dental and primary care in rural and underserved areas. Features statistics including program participant characteristics, with breakdowns by rural or urban background, and practice site characteristics for participants with fulfilled program status, with breakdowns by rural or underserved location.
Author(s): April Vestal, Fotinos Panagakos, Treah Haggerty, Ashley Brianna Sheppard
Citation: Journal of Public Health Dentistry, 82(1), 113-117
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
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Training Psychiatrists in New Mexico: Reflections from Psychiatry Residents Who Participated in a Rural Track Versus a Traditional Program Alone over the Past Decade
Presents results of a survey of 74 University of New Mexico psychiatry residents, comparing responses from those who participated in the school's Rural Psychiatry Track (RPT) to non-RPT residents. Describes the experiences of the residents and the RPT program's impacts on the likelihood of residents moving into rural practice.
Author(s): Cynthia Killough, Erin Rush Ortegon, Rahul Vasireddy, et al.
Citation: Academic Psychiatry, 46, 470-474
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
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Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages (ACICBL) Meeting Minutes, January 20-21, 2022
Summarizes the Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary, Community-Based Linkages (ACICBL) meeting held on January 20-21, 2022. Includes updates from the Bureau of Health Workforce and discussion on healthcare workforce resiliency and mental health. Features a presentation by the Wisconsin Council on Medical Education and Workforce on recruiting and retaining rural healthcare professionals.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Community-Based Linkages
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Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health External Quality Review: FY 2021-22 Statewide Report
Reports on an external review of all 56 county Mental Health Plans (MHPs) that are contracted to provide specialty mental health services to California Medicaid beneficiaries, including breakdowns for rural areas. Discusses challenges meeting demand and recruiting and retaining healthcare providers. Highlights access to services through telehealth; timeliness of providing service and tracking timeliness; quality management; and information systems.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: California Department of Health Care Services
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The Effectiveness of Policies to Improve Primary Care Access for Underserved Populations: An Assessment of the Literature
Review of research literature to assess whether policy initiatives targeting primary care access for rural and underserved populations has been effective in reducing healthcare disparities. Initiatives considered include availability, accessibility, accommodation, affordability, and acceptability.
Additional links: Fact Sheet: Alleviating Structural Barriers to Obtaining Primary Care Services, Fact Sheet: Bringing Outpatient Clinics into Communities, Fact Sheet: Ensuring Comfort and Communication in the Delivery of Primary Care Services, Fact Sheet: Increasing the Availability of Primary Care Clinicians, Fact Sheet: Removing Financial Barriers to Primary Care
Author(s): Maanasa Kona, Megan Houston, Nia Gooding
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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"It's the Relationships": Q&A with Peggy Broussard Wheeler
An interview with Peggy Broussard Wheeler, Vice President of Policy at the California Hospital Association. Covers the challenges rural hospitals face during the pandemic, health equity efforts, workforce issues, and more. Discusses how rural hospitals work together to address concerns.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Expanded Eligibility Allows More Rural Clinicians to Qualify for Loan Repayment
Webinar recording discusses the expansion of eligibility for the National Health Services Corps (NHSC) loan repayment program. Includes information on the different programs available, the reward amounts, and the eligibility for each. Features presentations from representatives of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, 3RNET, and the NHSC.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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The National Health Service Corps
Provides an overview of the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) program, including the federal scholarship and loan repayment components, and explains how the program affects rural recruitment and retention. Highlights changes in FY2018 focusing on opioid and substance use disorder treatment providers, as well as the provision of funding to expand the number of scholarship and loan repayment awards through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Date: 01/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Congressional Research Service
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