Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Behavioral health workforce

Addressing Behavioral Health Workforce Needs in Kansas
Examines the behavioral health workforce in Kansas by age and rural versus urban geographic distribution. Includes data on population to provider ratios for psychiatrists and licensed special clinical social workers (LSCSWs). Discusses strategies to reduce behavioral workforce shortages such as the utilization of telehealth.
Author(s): Cynthia Snyder, Angela Wu, Hina B. Shah, Wen-Chieh Lin
Date: 12/2022
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
view details
State of Georgia Mental Health Professional Shortage Area (MHPSA)
County-level map showing Georgia Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas by geographic area and partial county.
Date: 12/2022
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: Georgia State Office of Rural Health
view details
National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps (NACNHSC) Meeting Minutes, November 15-16, 2022
Minutes from the November 15-16, 2022 meeting, including presentations on collaborative care, shortage designation policy, HRSA's geriatrics programs, family caregivers, effects of COVID-19, and National Health Service Corps updates.
Additional links: Agenda, Caring for the Care Collaborator: Building and Sustaining the Competent Team, Health Resources and Services Administration's Geriatrics Programs, Leading In Challenging Times… Creating the Future We Want and Our Communities and Patients Need, Policy Updates, Preparing Clinicians to "R.A.I.S.E." Family Caregivers
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Council on the National Health Service Corps
view details
Indiana's Behavioral Health Workforce Report Series: Psychiatrists and Psychiatric APRNs
Information on 2021 demographics, education and practice characteristics, and distribution of Indiana physicians and Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) who report having a practice specialty in psychiatry. Includes a county-level map showing geographic distribution of psychiatrists, with shadings indicating counties that are Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs).
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
view details
Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics Demonstration Program: Report to Congress, 2021
Provides an overview of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration. Offers a summary of the findings from the prior annual reports on the CCBHC demonstration, a comparison of cost and quality in the first two demonstration years, and the results of impact analyses. This is the fifth annual report to Congress on the CCBHC demonstration.
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, Mathematica
view details
Rural-Urban Prescribing Patterns by Primary Care and Behavioral Health Providers in Older Adults with Serious Mental Illness
Examines psychiatric prescription patterns by behavioral health specialists (BHSs) and primary care providers (PCPs) in older adults with serious mental illness (SMI). Analyzes 2018 Medicare data of 2,079,045 Medicare beneficiaries who received a prescription for their SMI diagnosis. Includes rural versus urban comparisons of psychiatric medication type and provider type.
Author(s): Ulrike Muench, Matthew Jura, Cindy Parks Thomas, Jennifer Perloff, Joanne Spetz
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 22, 1440
Date: 11/2022
Type: Document
view details
Tips for Disaster Responders: Understanding Historical Trauma and Resilience When Responding to an Event in Indian Country
Describes historical trauma and its impact on Native American populations, and offers guidance for behavioral health responders when engaged in disaster preparedness and response efforts for tribal communities.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
view details
Behavioral Health: Available Workforce Information and Federal Actions to Help Recruit and Retain Providers
Examines the available information on the behavioral health workforce, including federal data on the number of providers nationwide and the projection of the supply and demand for behavioral health providers in 2030. Identifies key barriers to recruiting and retaining behavioral health providers, as well as actions federal agencies have taken to support recruiting and retaining these providers. Outlines federal loan repayment, scholarship, and training programs designed to address workforce challenges in rural and other underserved areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
view details
How Alaska Supports Rural and Frontier Behavioral Health Services
Describes Alaska's Behavioral Health Aide (BHA) program, a non-licensed provider type designed to promote behavioral health and wellness in Alaska Native individuals, families, and communities through culturally relevant training and education. Discusses qualifications for the BHA certification, payment, and next steps for other states seeking to develop similar programs.
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
view details
Changes in the Supply and Rural-Urban Distribution of Social Workers in the U.S., 2014-2021
Describes the distribution of social workers in U.S. counties by rural or urban location and census division. Features statistics with breakdowns by 6 levels of population density and by year. Includes county-level map showing change in social workers per 100,000 population in rural counties, from 2014-2021.
Author(s): CHA Andrilla, SC Woolcock, LA Garberson, DG Patterson
Date: 10/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details