Employment of Advanced-practice Psychiatric Nurses to Stem Rural Mental Health Workforce Shortages
Document Type
Policy Brief
Publication Date
1-1-2008
Keywords
Adolescent, Adult, Employment, Female, Humans, Male, Mental Health Services, Middle Aged, Nurse Practitioners, Professional Practice Location, Psychiatric Nursing, Rural Health Services, United States, MRHRC, mental health
Publication Title
Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: People living in rural areas have the same incidence of mental illness but far less access to mental health services compared with people living in urban areas. This brief report describes the workforce of advanced-practice psychiatric nurses (APPNs) and explores their potential to ease the rural mental health workforce shortage.
METHODS: National certification data were used to describe workforce characteristics and the rural distribution of APPNs. All nationally certified APPNs in 2003 were included (N=8,751).
RESULTS: APPNs were more likely than psychiatrists to live in rural areas. The ratio of APPNs to state rural populations ranged from .06 to 14.9. The mean+/-SD ratio of APPNs per 100,000 in the rural population was 3.0+/-3.0.
CONCLUSIONS: APPNs have great potential to be a solution to the rural mental health workforce shortage. Even so, the number of APPNs must increase and barriers to their full scope of practice must be removed.
Funding Organization
Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, National Institute for Nursing Research, federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services
Grant Number
P30-NR-005043; T32-NR-007104; 4-UIC-RH-00013-04-05
Recommended Citation
Hanrahan, N. P., & Hartley, D. (2008). Employment of advanced-practice psychiatric nurses to stem rural mental health workforce shortages. Psychiatric Services, 59(1), 109-111.
Comments
Major support for this study came from the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, under National Institute for Nursing Research grants P30-NR-005043 and T32-NR-007104 (Linda H. Aiken, Ph.D., R.N., principal investigator for both). This study was funded in part by grant 4-UIC-RH-00013-04-05 from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, Health Resources and Services Administration of the Department of Health and Human Services. The authors acknowledge Benjamin Dubow from Urban Studies at the University of Pennsylvania for his GIS mapping expertise. The conclusions and opinions expressed in this report are the authors’, and no endorsement by the University of Southern Maine or the funding source is intended or should be inferred.