Public Health Reports
Volume 109, Issue 6, 1994, Pages 809-815

A rural-urban comparative study of nonphysician providers in community and migrant health centers (Article)

Shi L.* , Samuels M.E. , Ricketts III T.C. , Konrad T.R.
  • a Department of Health Administration, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
  • b Department of Health Administration, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
  • c Department of Health Administration, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States
  • d Department of Health Administration, School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States

Abstract

This is a study of the employment of nonphysician providers-nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and certified nurse midwives-in both rural and urban Community and Migrant Health Centers and of factors associated with their employment, based on a 1991 national survey of 383 Centers. Results of the survey suggest that nonphysician providers, in particular nurse practitioners and certified nurse midwives, primarily serve as physician substitutes, and are more likely to be employed by Centers that are larger and have affiliations with nonphysician provider training programs. Rural or urban location is not significantly related to the employment of nonphysician providers after controlling for center size. The fact that rural centers employ fewer nonphysician providers than urban centers can primarily be accounted for by their relatively small size, rather than a lack of interest. These findings demonstrate that the use of nonphysician providers is an important way both to achieve cost containment and improve access to primary care for those residing in medically under- served areas.

Author Keywords

[No Keywords available]

Index Keywords

urban area rural area training health care personnel human Nurse Practitioners priority journal comparative study rural health Urban Health United States Community Health Centers Nurse Midwives health services research nurse practitioner Article midwife physician Transients and Migrants health center employment Data Collection Physician Assistants Health Facility Size Organizational Affiliation
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0028559972&partnerID=40&md5=3d6575653ad45874be270f21c4354a82
ISSN: 00333549
Cited by: 17
Original Language: English