Allied health professionals

Current Projects

• Access to and Provision of Child and Youth Behavioral Health Services in the Rural and Urban U.S.
  The need for behavioral health treatment for youth has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the availability of youth behavioral health providers in rural areas. This study will investigate who provides behavioral health services to youth, how equitably the workforce is distributed, and gaps in service availability.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Physician assistants, Physicians, Substance use and treatment, Workforce
  
• Assessing the Clinical and Financial Impact of Community Health Workers in Rural America
  This scoping review project will assess how often the existing literature has examined community health workers (CHW) in rural America and what the literature suggests about the clinical and financial impact that CHWs have in rural communities.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Health promotion and disease prevention, Social determinants of health
  
• Barriers and Facilitators to Providing Rural Clinical Training for Health Professions Students and Residents
  Scarce rural clinical training sites are the top barrier preventing medical schools, residencies, and nurse practitioner and physician assistant education programs, among other health professional training programs, from providing rural training to their students. This study aims to describe the barriers to offering rural clinical training and the potential solutions for establishing and sustaining interdisciplinary rural clinical training.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Healthcare access, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, Physicians, Workforce
  
• Comparing Utilization and Quality of Home Health Care Between Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status
  This project examines differences in home health use and quality by enrollment in Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) versus Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Findings will include information on rural-urban and intra-rural variation in home health care to inform policies on access, payment, and quality for Medicare FFS and MA plans.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Allied health professionals, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Home health, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Post-acute care, Quality
  
• Dentist Supply, Dental Care Utilization, and Oral Health Among Rural and Urban U.S. Residents: Exploring Changes in the Past 15 Years
  This project will describe the national supply of the rural and urban dental workforce and investigate whether rural adults, compared to urban adults, report lower dental care utilization, higher prevalence of dental disease or both. This study will also look at whether disparities in oral health care and supply have changed over the past 15 years.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Oral health, Workforce
  
• Evaluating the Impact and Progress of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program
  HRSA established the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program to expand health service capacity by supporting public health job development, training, and placement in rural and tribal communities. This project will examine how the program's 32 grantees implemented their activities and will assess the impact of their program activities.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Workforce
  
• Understanding Changes in the Rural Marriage and Family Therapist and Mental Health Counselor Workforces Under New Medicare Reimbursement Policy
  Marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors are newly eligible as of January 1, 2024, for reimbursement to provide care for Medicare enrollees. This study will describe the change in these clinicians in rural vs. urban communities and seek to understand barriers and solutions to fully realize the benefits of this new reimbursed policy for rural populations.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Health disparities and health equity, Medicare, Mental and behavioral health, Workforce