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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health workforce supply and demand

2022 Behavioral Health Workforce Assessment: A Report of the Behavioral Health Workforce Advisory Committee
Details the results of a study analyzing the occupations, roles, size, distribution, career pathways, demand, policy, and practice issues for the behavioral health workforce in the state of Washington. Includes recommendations to address workforce-related barriers and improve access to behavioral healthcare, and provides rural specific information.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organizations: UW Center for Health Workforce Studies, Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
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Practicing in Different Settings: Community vs Hospital
Webinar comparing community health nursing, public health nursing, and hospital nursing. Includes a discussion of community health nursing in a rural setting compared to an urban setting. Discusses workforce shortages, nurse training, and more. See video description for transcript.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: University of Texas at Arlington Center for Rural Health and Nursing
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Private Health Insurance: State and Federal Oversight of Provider Networks Varies
Describes oversight responsibilities for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid, the Department of Labor, and state governments for ensuring adequate private health insurance plans and provider networks. Examines processes for determining adequacy through surveys and interviews with stakeholders from state agencies and medical association groups as well as a review of relevant laws and regulations. Outlines factors for inadequacy including health workforce shortages and distance from in-network services in rural areas.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Staffing Crisis Casts Shadow Over Vulnerable Rural Communities: Executive Summary
Summarizes key findings from a series of surveys of rural hospital leaders conducted in 2021 and 2022 regarding staffing shortages. Discusses COVID-19 vaccination and exemptions, nursing shortages and the impact on access to care, and the effectiveness of recruiting incentives on attracting staff.
Author(s): Michael Topchik, Troy Brown, Melanie Pinette, Billy Balfour, Ana Wiesse
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: The Chartis Group
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Virginia Community Services Boards Behavioral Health Services: 2022
Report on activities of Virginia's Community Services Boards (CSBs), the state's primary mechanism for providing publicly funded behavioral health services in local communities. Includes a section on CSBs' role in providing services to rural areas. Features statistics on numbers of substance use disorder and mental health consumers, with breakdowns by urban and rural CSBs.
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission
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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
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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State Strategies to Support the Future of the Primary Care Physician and Nursing Workforce
Discusses primary care physician and nursing workforce challenges, including the shortage of these providers in rural and underserved areas. Describes policies and strategies implemented by states to address these challenges. Offers resources for states, health systems, and academic institutions exploring innovative strategies to address healthcare workforce challenges.
Author(s): Elaine Chhean, Anita Cardwell, Lauren Block, Sarah Tocher
Date: 12/2022
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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VA Training Program Contributions: Evaluation of Indianapolis Veterans' Affairs Medical Center Training Contributions to the State of Indiana
Provides information and data on health professionals trained at Veterans' Affairs (VA) facilities. Discuses VA investments, impacts on the Indiana health workforce, and the geographic distribution of VA health professional trainees (HPTs), including population to physician ratios.
Author(s): Courtney Medlock, Mykayla Tobin, Hannah Maxey, et al.
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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The Nursing Shortage and its Consequences in Rural Virginia
Policy brief exploring the statewide nursing shortage in Virginia, with a focus on rural areas. Offers insights into the cause of the crisis as well as areas for improvement. Features statistics on the number of healthcare workers who left their jobs from 2000-2022, leading to an overall healthcare workforce shortage.
Author(s): Sety Abooali
Date: 11/2022
Sponsoring organization: West Virginia State Office of Rural Health
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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
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