GIS residency footprinting: analyzing the impact of family medicine graduate medical education in Hawai'i.

Background: Access to care for patients in Hawai'i is compromised by a significant primary care workforce shortage. Not only are there not enough primary care providers, they are often not practicing in locations of high need such as rural areas on the neighbor islands or in the Pacific.

Methods: This study used geographic information systems (GIS) spatial analysis to look at practice locations for 86 University of Hawai'i Family Medicine and Community Health graduates from 1993 to the 2010.

Migration analysis of physicians practicing in Hawai'i from 2009-2011.

Background: Hawai'i suffers a 20% shortage of physicians. Examining physician migration patterns into and out of Hawai'i may better inform physician recruitment and retention techniques.

Methods: 2009-2011 practice location data on all non-military, practicing physicians in Hawai'i were compiled in a database maintained by the University of Hawai'i John A Burns School of Medicine, Area Health Education Center (AHEC).

Geographical maldistribution of native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander physicians in Hawai'i.

Background: Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders (NHOPI) have high prevalence of overweight status, obesity, and hypertension, as well as high rates of asthma and cancer mortality. Some barriers to health care delivery for this population are a physician shortage in Hawai'i and a geographical maldistribution of actively practicing physicians. This study examines the distribution of NHOPI physicians compared to the NHOPI population in Hawai'i through Geographical Information System choropleth mapping.