Washington Resources

Risk & Protective Factors for Rural Youth Substance Use: A Report for the Rural Network
Examines youth substance use in rural areas and various risk and protective factors. Utilizes data from Washington State's Rural Network members to analyze substance use and discusses school-based, family-based, and community-based preventive factors.
Author(s): Ellie Jackson
Date: 08/2025
Sponsoring organizations: Rural Network, WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Household Firearm Storage Practices
Examines household firearm storage practices in the state of Washington between 2013 to 2022. Utilizes data from 77,275 adults and provides firearm storage practices according to sex, veteran status, race, presence of children in the household, age, and small town/rural, large town/suburban, or urban location.
Author(s): Kelsey M. Conrick, Samantha Banks, Julia P. Schleimer, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 8(7)
Date: 07/2025
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Washington State's Anesthesia Workforce
Provides an overview of the anesthesia care workforce in Washington State as well as a literature review related to anesthesia workforce quality and gaps. Focuses on training, career pathways, scope of practice, licensure, and employment data. Examines county-level and rural versus urban data on healthcare sites, services, and healthcare professionals providing anesthesia care. Includes workforce analyses of a variety of healthcare professionals working in anesthesia, such as nurses, oral healthcare workers, physicians, and physician assistants.
Additional links: Anesthesiologist Assistants Occupational Brief, Anesthesiologists Occupational Brief, Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Occupational Brief, Dental Anesthesia Assistants Occupational Brief, Dentists Occupational Brief, Physician Assistants Occupational Brief
Author(s): Paula M. Kett, Kyla F. Woodward, Samantha W. Pollack, et al.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Medically Underserved Areas and Medically Underserved Populations in Washington
Shows full or partial areas of counties designated as a Medically Underserved Area (MUA) or Medically Underserved Population (MUP) in Washington
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Federally Designated Health Professional Shortage Areas for Mental Care in Washington
Shows full or partial areas of counties designated as Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) in Washington.
Date: 04/2025
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Department of Health
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Washington's Health Workforce Sentinel Network Findings Brief: Rural Health Workforce
Reports on rural health workforce challenges in Washington State, utilizing survey response data from healthcare employers. Highlights topics including workforce training, education, recruitment, and retention, and details employer strategies to address staffing challenges and identifies community factors influencing staffing.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Washington's Health Workforce Sentinel Network Findings Brief: Small Hospitals
Describes reasons for long vacancies, high turnover, and retention problems at Washington hospitals with 25 beds or fewer. Examines problems such as lack of child care and housing, and workplace violence. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Washington's Health Workforce Sentinel Network Findings Brief: Rural Health Clinics
Describes reasons for long vacancies and high turnover and retention problems at Washington Rural Health Clinics, based on survey responses collected from 2022-2025. Examines problems such as lack of child care, housing, delays in licensing, and workplace violence.
Date: 2025
Sponsoring organizations: The Health Workforce Sentinel Network, UW Center for Health Workforce Studies
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Firearm Experiences, Behaviors, and Norms Among Rural Adolescents
Examines handgun carrying experiences and social norms among 93 rural adolescents in Washington state. Utilizes survey, interview, and focus group data to provide data on having carried a handgun, age at first carry, and views on acceptable and unacceptable ways to engage with firearms, reasons for carrying, and places to carry.
Author(s): Elizabeth H. Weybright, Heather F. Terral, Ashley Hall, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(10), e2441203
Date: 10/2024
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Training a Rural Oral Health Workforce: Effects of Rural Background on Dentist Practice Choice
Assesses outcomes from 2012-2021 of the Regional Initiatives in Dental Education (RIDE) program, an educational track of the University of Washington School of Dentistry that aims to produce graduates who practice in rural areas of the Pacific Northwest. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by rural or nonrural upbringing.
Author(s): Anna R. Forsyth, Arsen A. Melkonyan, Kristopher Kerns, et al.
Citation: Journal of Dental Education, 89(2), 177-185
Date: 09/2024
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