Physicians

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
  
• 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
  
• Changes in Buprenorphine Prescribing Following the Elimination of the Drug Enforcement Administration X Waiver Requirement
  The Drug Enforcement Administration requirement for an X waiver to prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder was lifted in January 2023. This study aims to describe if and how this policy change has impacted the prescribing practices of clinicians and medication treatment access for patients with opioid use disorder.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Legislation and regulation, Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Physician assistants, Physicians, Substance use and treatment, Workforce
  
• Disparities in Family Physician Burnout Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  High levels of burnout during the COVID-19 pandemic have been documented among health professionals, particularly women and persons from underrepresented groups. This study examines how burnout has changed from 2019 through 2021 among family physicians as well as variation by rural/urban geography, other sociodemographics, and practice characteristics to identify physicians most in need of interventions to foster resilience and alleviate burnout.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Mental and behavioral health, Physicians, Workforce
  
• Disparities in Screening, Prevention, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Rural and Urban Primary Care
  This study will use a large national primary care registry to compare cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening, prevention, and management quality measures between rural and urban primary care practices. It will also assess for disparities by patient composition (race/ethnicity, insurance) of the practice.
  Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Minority health, Physicians, Quality
  
• Identifying High-Need Counties for Resource Planning
  The primary aim of this project is to use data examining health care infrastructure, chronic disease prevalence, and the socioeconomic environment to create a metric for classifying rural counties based on needs and resources.
  Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
  Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Maternal health, Obesity, Oral health, Physicians, Poverty, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health, Uninsured and underinsured, Workforce
  
• Rural and Urban Cancer Survivors' Follow-Up Care Experiences
  This project examines rural vs. urban differences in cancer survivors' follow-up care experiences using the 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
  Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Care management, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Physicians, Post-acute care, Quality
  
• Specialist Physicians in the Rural and Urban U.S.: Supply, Distribution, and Access
  This project will describe the geographic distribution (rural/urban, regional, and intra-rural) of specialist physicians who care for patients experiencing conditions that account for the top four leading causes of rural mortality. It will also explore how patients in rural communities that lack these specialists obtain needed care.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Frontier health, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Physicians, Social determinants of health, Telehealth, Workforce
  
• The Impact of Rural Surgery Training on General Surgeon Supply in Rural Communities
  A growing number of general surgery programs offer rural training that aims to address the dwindling supply of rural surgeons. This study aims to describe program models for providing rural general surgery training; quantify the availability of programs; and compare the models' effectiveness in producing rural surgeons.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Physicians, Workforce
  
• Treatment, Provider, and Cost Differences for Rural and Urban Patients with Opioid Use Disorder Across the U.S.
  This study describes and compares the treatment that rural and urban patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) receive, documenting the workforce providing care, distance that patients travel to receive care, and cost of care. Findings will inform policies to ensure that rural patients with OUD have access to care from local healthcare providers.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Physician assistants, Physicians, Substance use and treatment, Telehealth
  
• Treatment, Provider, and Cost Differences for Rural and Urban Patients with Opioid Use Disorder and Medicaid Insurance Across the U.S.
  This project will analyze Medicaid claims data to compare the treatment that rural and urban patients with opioid use disorder receive, documenting the workforce providing care, the distance that patients travel to receive care, and the cost of care. Findings from this study can be used to improve policies regarding opioid use disorder treatment.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Legislation and regulation, Medicaid and CHIP, Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Physician assistants, Physicians, Substance use and treatment, Telehealth, Workforce
  
• Trends in Health Workforce Supply in the Rural U.S.
  Rural communities in the U.S. have struggled to recruit and sustain sufficient health professionals to ensure adequate access to care. This study uses multiple sources of data to describe the geographic distribution (rural/urban, regional, and intra-rural) of numerous types of health professionals.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Oral health, Physician assistants, Physicians
  
• Use of Z Codes by Rural and Urban Providers to Capture Data on the Social Determinants of Health Impacting Medicare Beneficiaries
  Using a mixed methods approach, we will examine the use of Z codes by rural and urban providers to better capture information on the social determinants of health experienced by Medicare beneficiaries across the rural continuum.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health services, Medicare, Physicians, Social determinants of health