Recipient Organization
UNIV OF MINNESOTA
(N/A)
ST PAUL,MN 55108
Performing Department
Design, Housing & Apparel
Non Technical Summary
While approximately 20 percent of the United States population lives in rural areas, only 9 percent of physicians practice there. Physicians consistently and preferentially settle in metropolitan, suburban, and other non-rural areas (Geyman et al., 2000). This uneven distribution of physicians is expected to further disadvantage rural communities as the overall shortage of physicians continues. For example, the University of Minnesota first-year medical school class of 2005 consisted of 165 students (Profile of Entering Class 2004). This number of students will fall short of the number needed in greater Minnesota alone. According to the Greater Minnesota Health Professional Demand Survey 2006, 2,464 physicians were employed in 79 responding health care facilities. In addition, the 79 employers reported that they were in the process of recruiting 249 additional physicians. Recruiting and retaining physicians is a challenge everywhere, but especially in small communities and rural areas. While access to health care in rural places typically focuses on primary care physicians, a national network of 1,300 small critical access hospitals has been established to assure access to medical care in rural areas (Medpac 2007). Yet for these facilities to remain viable recruiting and retaining their complete workforce ranging from physicians and medical directors to cooks and custodial staff is essential. The purpose of this study is to examine the workforce demands of small rural hospitals and the role of housing in employee satisfaction. The research will focus on the Northern Great Plains States of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota. A survey of the Critical Access Hospitals will be conducted to determine the labor force employed by these hospitals and employee's satisfaction with their work, community, and housing situations. In addition, employer strategies will be identified to meet the workforce housing needs. Expected outcomes include increased knowledge by researchers, hospital administrators, and government officials of the economic impacts of hospital payrolls in rural communities as well as the range of housing needed to meet healthcare employees' needs. Awareness of possible employer involvement in workforce housing development will be increased. There is a potential for employers to adopt best practice strategies and increase their involvement in workforce housing as well as adoption of policy incentives by housing agencies or legislative changes that facilitate ways to meet the healthcare workforce housing needs. Anticipated benefits of the project include the development of a holistic approach to recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals and other employees' of Critical Access Hospitals. Through increased viability, Critical Access Hospitals will maintain their ability to provide healthcare to rural residents and facilitate the economic and community development of rural areas.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
The project consists of three primary objectives: Objective 1: To identify workforce requirements of Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) in the Northern Great Plains Region and examine the extent to which housing factors contribute to existing and potential (students/trainees) employees' satisfaction with their work and community. Objective 2: To identify short-term housing needs for healthcare providers and trainees in rural communities. Objective 3. To determine best practice examples and employer strategies for meeting short-term housing needs of the healthcare professionals and trainees in rural areas. Output activities include developing, implementing, and analyzing a survey of Critical Access Hospital labor force requirements and employees' satisfaction with their work, community, and housing situations. Best practices for healthcare employers involvement in workforce housing will be identified and summarized. Graduate Research Assistants will be mentored. Dissemination of best practice findings will be shared with participating Critical Access Hospitals, community planners, and healthcare professionals through presentations at regional conferences and published materials. Research presentations will be made at professional conferences including Rural Sociological Society Annual Meetings and the Community Development Society. Manuscripts will be submitted to refereed academic journals.
Project Methods
The geographic area covered by this project is the Northern Great Plains Region (NGPR) states of Iowa, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska. The study will include communities with a Critical Access Hospital. A research advisory team will incorporate user input in the study design, pilot testing, case studies, and final evaluation of the project. Institutional Review Board (IRB) Human Subjects Review will be completed prior to initiating the research survey and interviews. To meet Objectives 1, a pilot study regarding existing staffing and wage/salary levels and employee housing needs and satisfaction will be tested using two representative hospitals in Minnesota. Following a revision, a workforce and income survey will be sent to the 310 Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) in the Northern Great Plains Region (NGPR). Data analysis will determine housing affordability levels for staff employed in NGPR Critical Access Hospitals based on federal housing affordability measures. A revised employee satisfaction survey will be sent to 500 randomly selected CAH employees. Advanced notice of the survey will be provided to each selected hospital including a poster notice for employees. A postcard will notify employees that they have been selected to participate in the study. A reminder postcard and second survey will be mailed to non-respondents. Respondents' housing needs and preferences will be analyzed in relation to existing countywide housing characteristics identified by public data sources from the Census Bureau, community planning documents, and websites. Using a SPSS computer program, data from the two surveys will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and logistic regression determining significant factors related to employee satisfaction. Objective 2 focuses on short-term housing needs for healthcare professionals and trainees. Case studies of at least three communities will include interviews with hospital administrators and city officials discussing short-term housing needs and housing aspects of recruiting and retaining the healthcare workforce. Where possible, short-stay workers and trainees will be included in on-site interviews. Detailed notes will be analyzed to identify themes and develop thick descriptions. Objective 3 will be met by on-site reviews in five communities where successful housing strategies are identified. Community selection criteria will be developed in conjunction with the Research Advisory Team. Research procedures will include observation, photographs and interviews with hospital administrators and city officials. Qualitative analysis will identify themes, key processes and strategies, and significant actors. A set of best practices for communities will be developed. Given limited Agricultural Experiment Station resources, additional funding will be sought to support Research Advisory Team meetings, survey expenses, and travel costs for case study interviews and on-site observations.