Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Primary care

Understanding the Impact of Healthcare Providers' Perspectives on Cancer Control in Rural Communities: A Qualitative Study
Explores the perceptions of 23 healthcare providers on factors impacting rural patients' access to care and the associated impacts on providers' approach to cancer screening and prevention recommendations. Discusses the impact of both patient and provider trust on information-gathering and care coordination.
Author(s): Alee Lockman, Mariam Krikorian Atkinson, Keelin McGee, Tenille Oderwald, James McGee
Citation: SSM - Qualitative Research in Health, 6, 100452
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
view details
State of the Primary Care Workforce, 2024
Offers data on the current state and projected estimates of the future supply of physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants offering primary care. Includes demographics as well as current and projected shortages with comparison and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan projections. Discusses challenges impacting the workforce and the impact of primary care on population health. Includes state by state data on the primary care physician workforce.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
view details
Strengthening Independent Primary Care Practice in California: Understanding Small Practice Perspectives
Examines business and financial factors influencing independent primary care practice in California through interviews with physicians in California's Riverside, San Bernardino, and Humboldt counties and other healthcare leaders and subject matter experts. Identifies common concerns and provides recommendations related to healthcare economics, reimbursement, and policy. Discusses topics related to rural practice, including the Rural Health Clinic designation.
Author(s): Jill M. Yegian
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: California Health Care Foundation
view details
Improving Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment for Unhealthy Alcohol Use in Diverse, Low-Resourced Primary Care Clinics
Examines primary care clinics participating in a practice-facilitator led implementation study aimed at improving screening brief intervention and referral to treatment (SBIRT) as well as medication-assisted treatment for alcohol use disorder (MAUD). Analyzes 66 clinics located in the northwestern U.S. from 2019-2022 and the supportive activities they used to improve SBIRT and MAUD. Includes commentary on rural and low-resourced primary care clinics.
Author(s): Melinda M. Davis, Jennifer Coury, Victoria Sanchez, et al.
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 24, 1384
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
view details
Community Responses and Adaptations Following the Closure of a Rural Pharmacy and Primary Care Facility
Uses interviews with 26 community members to identify the impact of a pharmacy and primary healthcare facility closure in a rural Pennsylvania community. Discusses challenges for vulnerable populations, distance to care, social networks, delayed treatment, emergency medical services, alternative medicine, and more.
Author(s): Hazel Velasco Palacios, Kristina Brant, Danielle Rhubart, Jorden Jackson
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 2024
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
view details
Increasing Medication Assisted Treatment in Rural Primary Care Practice: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis from IT MATTTRs Colorado
Examines how the characteristics of rural primary care practices in Colorado affect their ability to provide medication assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD), utilizing data from the Implementing Technology and Medication Assisted Treatment Team Training in Rural Colorado (IT MATTTRs) intervention. Analyzes practice characteristics including practice size, behavioral health availability, MAT prescriber staffing, clinicians with MAT experience, private or non-private practice, and leadership buy-in.
Author(s): Jodi Summers Holtrop, Rebecca Mullen, Kristen Curcija, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Medicine, 11, 1450672
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
view details
Dashboard: Arkansas Primary Care Physician Workforce
Dashboard providing data on primary care physicians (PCPs) in Arkansas, utilizing 2019-2021 Arkansas State Medical Board and Arkansas Healthcare Initiative All-Payer Claims Database (APCD) data. Provides county-by-county data on PCP distribution, demographics, and payer mix.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
view details
Trends in the Health Workforce Supply in the Rural U.S.
Describes trends in the supply and distribution of clinicians in primary care, behavioral health, and obstetrical care, as well as dentists, surgeons, community health workers, and home health aides. Examines the availability of workforce data for professions important for rural communities, and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of using various health workforce data sources for rural health research. Features statistics with breakdowns by 5 levels of population density.
Author(s): C. Holly A. Andrilla, Sara C. Woolcock, Lisa A. Garberson, et al.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
view details
Beneficiary and Clinician Perspectives on Medicare and Other Issues: Findings from 2024 Focus Groups in Select States
Summarizes findings from 24 focus groups of Medicare beneficiaries, Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligible) beneficiaries, and clinicians conducted between May and June 2024, including three virtual focus groups of rural Medicare beneficiaries. Highlights themes that emerged across the focus groups covering Medicare coverage options, access to care, telehealth, organization of care, and prescription drugs.
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, NORC at the University of Chicago
view details
Key Themes of Community-Oriented Primary Care Projects from a Longitudinal, Rural Interprofessional Health Professions Curriculum (1997–2023)
Examines Community Oriented Primary Care Project Model (COPC) projects implemented between 1997 and 2023 as part of rural medical and pharmacy health professions curricula in the University of Illinois system. Categorizes COPC project types and target populations, and discusses how COPC supports rural, community-engaged research.
Author(s): Hana E. Hinkle, A. Brianna Sheppard, Kara Fess, Heidi R. Olson, Elizabeth Squires
Citation: BMC Medical Education, 24, 1215
Date: 10/2024
Type: Document
view details