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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

HIV Prevention and Treatment Challenges in Rural America
Provides an overview of the prevalence of HIV and access to HIV prevention and treatment services in rural communities. Discusses challenges to providing and accessing HIV prevention and treatment efforts in rural areas, including the lack of local healthcare services, the cost of care, and HIV-related stigma. Describes federal programs that support HIV prevention and treatment services in rural areas. Offers policy recommendations to address these barriers and to reduce rural HIV disparities.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Maternal and Obstetric Care Challenges in Rural America
Provides an overview of the clinical factors and social determinants of health that may increase the risk of maternal morbidity and mortality in rural communities. Discusses the impact of insurance coverage status, hospital and obstetric unit closures, and workforce shortages on rural maternal health. Describes the role of the Department of Health and Human Services in addressing maternal health outcomes. Offers policy recommendations to reduce rural maternal health disparities.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services
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Washington State's 2019 Licensed Practical Nurse Workforce
Highlights the licensed practical nurse (LPN) workforce supply in the state of Washington in 2019. Explores the demographics, distribution, education, and work setting of LPNs using data collected from a survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and from state license renewals.
Additional links: Supplemental Report
Author(s): Benjamin A. Stubbs, Susan M. Skillman
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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What Commute Patterns Can Tell Us About the Supply of Allied Health Workers and Registered Nurses
Analyzes commuting patterns among people in 11 allied health occupations and 2 categories of registered nurses. Intended to help workforce planners understand the local supply of workers, measure productivity and the gain or loss in earnings due to increased commuting, and identify opportunities for benefits such as transportation subsidies. Discusses incentives that could be offered to rural nurses that might encourage them to seek work in their own communities. Features statistics on work characteristics, average wages, and average commute times among people in the occupations studied.
Additional links: Policy Brief
Author(s): Arati Dahal, Susan M. Skillman, Davis G. Patterson, Bianca K. Frogner
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Availability of Registered Nurses in North Dakota
Presents the supply and distribution of registered nurses in North Dakota. Includes a breakdown of rural and urban distribution and retention.
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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Physician Assistants in North Dakota
Highlights the supply and distribution of physician assistants in North Dakota. Includes a breakdown of rural and urban distribution and retention.
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: University of North Dakota School of Medicine & Health Sciences
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COVID-19 Exposes Threat to America's Broken Rural Health Care System
Recording of an April 21, 2020, webinar featuring members of the Bipartisan Policy Center's Rural Health Task Force. Discusses the Task Force's policy recommendations to stabilize the rural healthcare infrastructure and ensure local access to care as outlined in the report Confronting Rural America's Health Care Crisis. Describes how these recommendations will address the closures of obstetrics units, promote value-based care, provide incentives for clinicians to stay in rural areas, and remove barriers to telehealth. Transcript available in the video description.
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force
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Health Care Professional Workforce Composition Before and After Rural Hospital Closure
Policy brief examining the change in numbers of local healthcare providers before and after rural hospital closures from 2010-2018, to examine associations with eliminating inpatient services in rural areas. Features statistics with breakdowns by advanced practice providers, primary care providers, and specialists.
Author(s): Erin Mobley, Fred Ullrich, Redwan Bin Abdul Baten, Mina Shrestha, Keith Mueller
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
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Confronting Rural America's Health Care Crisis
Offers policy recommendations to stabilize the rural healthcare infrastructure and ensuring local access to care. Discusses strategies to provide financial relief to rural providers, preserve obstetric services, expand telehealth services, and address workforce shortages. Includes brief references to policy actions taken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Additional links: Rural Hospital Transformation Models, Summary, The Case for Expanding Telehealth Services, July 2020
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Bipartisan Policy Center Rural Health Task Force
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Implications of an Aging Primary Care Physician Workforce in Kansas
Discusses issues related to an aging population and primary care physician (PCP) workforce as well as strategies to reduce physician workforce shortages, increase the number of statewide training opportunities, and implement recruitment and retention strategies. Provides data on the age and geographic distribution of PCPs in Kansas.
Author(s): Hina B. Shah, Sydney McClendon, Madison Hoover
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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