Rural Healthcare Workforce – Resources
Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Healthcare Workforce.
Addressing Workforce Challenges Across the Behavioral Health Continuum of Care: Proceedings of a Workshop
Summary of presentations and discussions from a July 2024 public workshop to address workforce needs and challenges related to behavioral healthcare. Includes discussions of telepsychiatry collaborative care to improve rural access and capacity, and recruiting and retaining Native American healthcare providers in behavioral health settings.
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2025
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Summary of presentations and discussions from a July 2024 public workshop to address workforce needs and challenges related to behavioral healthcare. Includes discussions of telepsychiatry collaborative care to improve rural access and capacity, and recruiting and retaining Native American healthcare providers in behavioral health settings.
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2025
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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The State of Rural Provider Compensation in 2024: Rural Provider & Advanced Practice Provider Compensation Survey Results
Results of a survey of over 2,841 rural providers, conducted in January and February of 2024 to provide insight into rural healthcare organizations and promote evidence-based, informed decisions when considering physician and advanced practice provider compensation. Features statistics with breakdowns by type of provider, specialty area, region, and more. Must provide email to access report.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Results of a survey of over 2,841 rural providers, conducted in January and February of 2024 to provide insight into rural healthcare organizations and promote evidence-based, informed decisions when considering physician and advanced practice provider compensation. Features statistics with breakdowns by type of provider, specialty area, region, and more. Must provide email to access report.
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health, National Rural Health Association, Stroudwater Associates
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Effects of Rural Hospital Closures on Nurse Staffing Levels and Health Care Utilization at Nearby Hospitals
Analyzes healthcare utilization and nurse staffing levels when nearby rural hospitals close. Utilizes 2014-2019 American Hospital Association Survey data to examine vocational nurse/licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN), and advanced practice nurse (APN) staffing levels as well as inpatient and outpatient surgical operations and emergency department (ED) visits within 4 years of a hospital closure.
Author(s): Jing Dong, Siying Liu, Asefeh Faraz Covelli, Guido Cataife
Citation: Health Economics, 33(12), 2687-2707
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
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Analyzes healthcare utilization and nurse staffing levels when nearby rural hospitals close. Utilizes 2014-2019 American Hospital Association Survey data to examine vocational nurse/licensed practical nurse (LPN), registered nurse (RN), and advanced practice nurse (APN) staffing levels as well as inpatient and outpatient surgical operations and emergency department (ED) visits within 4 years of a hospital closure.
Author(s): Jing Dong, Siying Liu, Asefeh Faraz Covelli, Guido Cataife
Citation: Health Economics, 33(12), 2687-2707
Date: 12/2024
Type: Document
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State of the Behavioral Health Workforce, 2024
Offers demographic and occupational data on the behavioral health workforce including current and projected shortages. Data sources include both 2022 and 2023. Offers comparisons of shortages between rural and urban counties. Discusses challenges driving workforce shortages.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
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Offers demographic and occupational data on the behavioral health workforce including current and projected shortages. Data sources include both 2022 and 2023. Offers comparisons of shortages between rural and urban counties. Discusses challenges driving workforce shortages.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
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State of the U.S. Maternal Health Workforce, 2024
Offers demographic and occupational data on the maternal health workforce. Data sources include various years between 2021 and 2023. Includes current and projected comparisons of the workforce with the female population of childbearing age. Table 7 includes distribution of maternal health physicians compared with the population of women of childbearing age for large metropolitan, medium metropolitan, small metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas in 2022.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
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Offers demographic and occupational data on the maternal health workforce. Data sources include various years between 2021 and 2023. Includes current and projected comparisons of the workforce with the female population of childbearing age. Table 7 includes distribution of maternal health physicians compared with the population of women of childbearing age for large metropolitan, medium metropolitan, small metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore areas in 2022.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Health Resources and Services Administration, National Center for Health Workforce Analysis
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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
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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
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Clinician Distribution and Type in Rural and Urban Areas of the National Health Services Corps
A research letter that examines long-term trends of National Health Services Corp (NHSC) physician and non-physician clinician distribution in rural versus urban areas. Utilizes the 2000-2020 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) NHSC Field Strength database to examine the percentage of NHSC primary care, mental health, and dental health clinicians practicing in rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Olesya Baker, Marcela Horvitz-Lennon, Hao Yu
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(11)
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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A research letter that examines long-term trends of National Health Services Corp (NHSC) physician and non-physician clinician distribution in rural versus urban areas. Utilizes the 2000-2020 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) NHSC Field Strength database to examine the percentage of NHSC primary care, mental health, and dental health clinicians practicing in rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Olesya Baker, Marcela Horvitz-Lennon, Hao Yu
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(11)
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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Supply and Geographic Distribution of Geriatric Physicians and Geriatric Nurse Practitioners
Results of a study to explore trends in the supply of geriatric physicians (GMDs) and geriatric nurse practitioners (GNPs) from 2010 to 2020, and disparities between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Features county-level maps showing geographic trends in older adults, GMDs, and GNPs among U.S. counties in 2010 and 2020, and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties.
Author(s): Ying Xue, Lusine Poghosyan, Qinyun Lin
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(11), e2444659
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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Results of a study to explore trends in the supply of geriatric physicians (GMDs) and geriatric nurse practitioners (GNPs) from 2010 to 2020, and disparities between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties. Features county-level maps showing geographic trends in older adults, GMDs, and GNPs among U.S. counties in 2010 and 2020, and statistics with breakdowns by metropolitan and nonmetropolitan counties.
Author(s): Ying Xue, Lusine Poghosyan, Qinyun Lin
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 7(11), e2444659
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
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Nurse Workforce Projections, 2022-2037
Offers nursing workforce projections, using historical data up to and including some data from 2022. Features statistics for projected supply and demand for selected nursing occupations in years 2027, 2032, and 2037, projected shortages of registered nurses (RNs) in these years with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro areas, and a list of 10 states with the largest projected shortages of RNs in 2037.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Health Workforce
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Offers nursing workforce projections, using historical data up to and including some data from 2022. Features statistics for projected supply and demand for selected nursing occupations in years 2027, 2032, and 2037, projected shortages of registered nurses (RNs) in these years with breakdowns by metro and nonmetro areas, and a list of 10 states with the largest projected shortages of RNs in 2037.
Date: 11/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Bureau of Health Workforce
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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
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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
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Last Updated: 12/10/2024