The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify and prioritize the mental health needs of rural communities in Texas Public Health Region 11 utilizing the Delphi method. Rural individuals face unique challenges when attempting to receive treatment for serious mental illness and mental health care. Stigma, a lack of privacy when seeking…

Context: Improvement of rural health care access has been a guiding principle of federal and state policy regarding physician assistants (PAs). Purpose: To determine the factors that influence autonomous rural PAs (who work less than 8 hours per week with their supervising physician) to remain in remote locations. Methods: A qualitative…

The purpose of this report is to address the impact of several federally funded health programs serving rural Texans. The first section presents an overview of the statistical indices which demonstrate the current health status of rural Texans (health care problems of rural Texans exceed those of urban Texans, yet rural Texans have fewer resources…