An Examination of the Workforce in Rural America

Abstract

It is important to leverage the healthcare workforce in new and innovative ways, with more care taking place outside of traditional settings. Flexibility in the way individuals connect with and engage in care is critical. Relationships are central to the development, forward progress, and collective action of community-based partnerships and collaborations. Often, evaluation of partnerships or community collaborative efforts focuses on achieving outcomes and effectiveness; however, community capacity building has many dimensions including: skills and resources, nature of social relations, structures and mechanisms for community dialogue, civic participation, value systems, and learning culture. Continued expansion of telehealth as a means of healthcare provision means identifying evidence-based practices and policy changes to address challenges. There is a need to improve the quality and standardization of data to fully demonstrate and understand the impact of telehealth and identify where disparities persist. Telehealth plays a key role in helping to address workforce issues by enhancing access and reducing burnout.

Description

Keywords

Workforce, Telehealth

Citation

Brandford A, Falia G, Fahrenwald N, et al. An Examination of the Workforce in Rural America. Chapter 15. In: Ferdinand AO, Bolin JN, Callaghan T, Rochford HI, Lockman A, Johnson NY, eds. Rural Healthy People 2030. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University School of Public Health, Southwest Rural Health Research Center; 2023