Notice: Users may be experiencing issues with displaying some pages on stanfordhealthcare.org. We are working closely with our technical teams to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.
 

Learn about the flu shot, COVID-19 vaccine, and our masking policy »

Stanford Health Care

Rural-urban health care provider disparities in Alaska and New Mexico ADMINISTRATION AND POLICY IN MENTAL HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH Johnson, M. E., Brems, C., Warner, T. D., Roberts, L. W. 2006; 33 (4): 504-507

Abstract

Compared to their urban counterparts, rural residents face numerous disparities in obtaining health care, including limited access to care providers. We assessed disparities in provider availability in rural versus urban Alaska and New Mexico, with emphasis on professionals likely to provide mental health care. Using lists of licenses, we categorized physical and mental health care providers into rural versus urban and calculated rural versus urban disparity ratios. Rural residents had significantly less access to health care providers and discrepancies grew with level of required provider education and specialization. Addressing disparities via creative strategies is crucial to improving rural care delivery.

View details for DOI 10.1007/s10488-005-0001-7

View details for Web of Science ID 000239016500010

View details for PubMedID 16220242