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. 2005 Jan;95(1):42-8.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2004.047597.

Workforce issues in rural areas: a focus on policy equity

Thomas C Ricketts  1
Affiliations

Workforce issues in rural areas: a focus on policy equity

Thomas C Ricketts. Am J Public Health. 2005 Jan.

Abstract

Rural communities in the United States are served by relatively fewer health care professionals than urban or suburban areas. I review the geographic distribution of 6 classes of health professionals and describe the multiple government and private policies and programs intended to affect their geographic distribution. These programs can be classified into 3 categories--coercive, normative, and utilitarian--that characterize the major policy levers used to influence practice location decisions. Health workforce policies must be normative to ensure equity for rural communities, but goals in this area can be achieved only through a balance of utilitarian and coercive mechanisms.

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Figures

FIGURE 1—
FIGURE 1—
Active physicians per 100 000 population, by year and location (urban or rural).
FIGURE 2—
FIGURE 2—
Nonmetropolitan primary care health professional shortage area designations, 1980–2001. Note. FTE = full-time equivalent. Data were derived from the Bureau of Health Professions.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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