Changes in the Availability of Inpatient Psychiatric Beds Across Rural and Urban Areas, 2012-2021
Link
Date
03/2026
Description
This study explored the availability of rural and urban inpatient psychiatric beds between 2012-2021 by quantifying the number of beds in freestanding inpatient psychiatric hospitals (IPHs) and psychiatric distinct part units (DPUs) housed in general medical hospitals.
Key Findings:
- From 2012 to 2021, the United States experienced significant shifts in the distribution of inpatient psychiatric beds away from psychiatric DPUs in short-term medical hospitals in rural and urban areas, and towards freestanding IPHs in urban areas.
- While the number of DPU beds declined by 14.6% (775) in rural areas and 8.7% (2,834) in urban areas, the number of IPHs beds increased by 2.1% (120) in rural areas and 16.4% (7,851) in urban areas.
- Overall, rural areas experienced a 6.8% (755 beds) decline in the number of psychiatric beds operated by either DPUs or IPHs compared with a 6.2% (5,107 beds) increase in the number of psychiatric beds in urban areas.
- By 2021, inpatient psychiatric services were heavily concentrated in urban areas with urban areas having 8.3 times more beds (85,756) than rural areas (10,369).
- The Northeast and Midwest Census regions lost inpatient psychiatric beds (558 and 235 respectively) while the South and West gained beds (3,508 and 1,547 respectively).
Center
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Authors
John Gale, Zachariah Croll, Jamar Croom, Yvonne Jonk