Nebraska's rural behavioral healthcare workforce distribution and relationship between supply and county characteristics.

Introduction: Specific attention is needed to improve mental health outcomes in rural communities. Rural communities continue to have higher unmet mental health needs than their urban counterparts. Quantifying workforce supply and shortages can aid in identifying areas in need of the recruitment, training, licensure, and retention of behavioral health professionals.

Recruitment and retention of mental health care providers in rural Nebraska: perceptions of providers and administrators.

Introduction: The nationwide shortage of mental health professionals is especially severe in rural communities in the USA. Consistent with national workforce statistics, Nebraska's mental health workforce is underrepresented in rural and frontier parts of the state, with 88 of Nebraska's 93 counties being designated as federal mental health professional shortage areas. Seventy-eight counties have no practicing psychiatrists.