Statement of the problem: Approximately half a million women give birth in rural hospitals each year in the U.S. Workforce issues are an important constraint on obstetric care in rural hospitals, especially for small‐volume obstetric units. However, limited research explores the relationship between obstetric care workforce and the procedure intensity and quality of childbirth care provided in rural hospitals in the U.S.

Project goals: To examine the relationships between key aspects of the obstetric workforce in rural hospitals and procedure intensity and quality of maternity care in those hospitals.

Methods: We will link survey responses from our 2013 Rural Obstetric Care Workforce survey to HCUP Statewide Inpatient Database (SID) hospital discharge data from the same year (2013) to assess the relationships between obstetric workforce, procedure intensity, and quality of maternity care in rural hospitals in 9 states.

Publications

• The Maternity Care Nurse Workforce in Rural U.S. Hospitals
  Journal Article
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 05/2017
  Findings are shared from a study examining the maternity care nursing workforce in rural hospital in the United States.
• State Variations in the Rural Obstetric Workforce
  Policy Brief
  University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 05/2016
  Many types of staff are necessary to successfully run an obstetrics unit. Rural hospitals face unique staffing challenges. This policy brief describes the obstetric workforce in rural hospitals by state for nine states: Colorado, Iowa, Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.