Practice outcomes for the first decade of Rural Pharmacy Education (RPHARM) Program graduates.

Background: The maldistribution of pharmacy services in underserved areas is a national issue. Analysis of data from the 2019 National Pharmacist Workforce Study indicated that 13.9% of pharmacists were working in a rural community.

Perceptions and Attitudes toward Community Health and Interprofessional Education in Students with and without an Additional Community Medicine-Focused Program.

The Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford campus, and part of the National Center for Rural Health Professions, strives to recruit students from rural areas, who, after completing residency, return to rural Illinois as primary care physicians. RMED students meet monthly to learn about the community and public health in rural communities. Furthermore, they complete a 16-week rural preceptorship during their fourth year.

The Association of Medication Knowledge and Adherence Scores With Hospital Readmission.

Readmission scoring systems are used to predict 30-day hospital readmission. These prediction tools do not considerlack of patient medication knowledge or adherence which can worsen disease outcomes or increase risk of readmissions. To determine if medication knowledge and adherence, as assessed by validated questionnaires, are associated with an increased rate of 30-day readmission.

The aging general surgeon of rural America.

Purpose: Nonmetropolitan communities are faced with health care professional shortages and prior reports suggest that general surgeons are no exception. The purpose of this brief is to evaluate the age difference and distribution of rural versus urban general surgeons to highlight the growing need to recruit medical students and residents for rural practice.

Methods: A secondary data analysis of residency graduated general surgeon demographics at the county level was performed using data from the Area Health Resource File.

Appointment attendance and patient perception of drive-up INR testing in a rural anticoagulation clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: The Anticoagulation Forum and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend drive-up international normalized ratio (INR) testing to combat INR non-adherence and increase safety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Patient perceptions and impact on attendance have not been studied.

Objective: To assess appointment volume and patient perception after initiation of drive-up INR testing in a rural pharmacist-managed anticoagulation clinic.

Unhealthy behaviours in urban Illinois communities affected by eviction: A descriptive analysis.

Eviction of renter-occupied homes is an emerging public health crisis adversely impacting populations already at risk. Although housing quality and home-owner foreclosures have been linked to health outcomes, the relationship between eviction of renter-occupied homes and health has not been well established. The demographics and socioeconomic status of renters differs from homeowners, as such any relationship with health outcomes should be distinguished between the two.

Assessment of burnout in medical students using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey: a cross-sectional data analysis.

Background: Medical student burnout can cause emotional and physical exhaustion and detachment. The objectives of this study were to evaluate burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), identify factors that may predict burnout, and assess wellness initiatives effectiveness at reducing burnout.

Methods: The MBI-SS was administered to all medical students (Classes 2019 to 2022) at the University of Illinois College of Medicine (UICOM) from February to May 2019.

Factors Influencing a Medical Student's Decision to Pursue Surgery as a Career.

Background: Recent match trends from the National Resident Matching Program suggest that the number of allopathic medical students (MD) pursuing general surgery is declining. This decline may have profound consequences given the surgeon shortage predicted by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Early exposure to surgery opportunities may increase a student's desire to pursue the specialty as a career.

Impact of a rural interprofessional health professions summer preceptorship educational experience on participants' attitudes and knowledge.

Background: A six-week rural interprofessional health professions summer preceptorship provided an interprofessional training experience (IPE) for upper level baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate/graduate level health professions students in Dixon, Illinois, USA. There are three distinct yet complementary components of this forty hours per week summer preceptorship: Numerous interprofessional clinical shadowing experiences, a community service-learning project carried out as a team and weekly classroom sessions. This study assesses knowledge and attitude changes about IPE among students who participated in this Rural Interprofessional Health Professions Summer Preceptorship between 2006 and 2011.

A decade of rural physician workforce outcomes for the Rockford Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program, University of Illinois.

Purpose: To report on the retention and practice outcomes of the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Rockford Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program and to examine distance from influential locations in relation to graduates' current practice location.

Method: The RMED Program recruits candidates from rural backgrounds, provides a supplemental curriculum addressing rural topics and experiences, and tracks graduates' practice location and specialty choice outcomes. Practice location and specialty were compared for 160 RMED graduates and 2,663 non-RMED graduates, from 1997 to 2007.

An interprofessional rural health education program.

Objectives: To develop, implement, and assess an interprofessional rural health professions program for pharmacy and medical students.

Design: A recruitment and admissions process was developed that targeted students likely to practice in rural areas. Pharmacy students participated alongside medical students in completing the Rural Health Professions program curriculum, which included monthly lecture sessions and assignments, and a capstone clinical requirement in the final year.

Rural mental health workforce needs assessment - a national survey.

Introduction: A variety of studies have indicated that rural communities have fewer mental health services and professionals than their urban counterparts. This study will examine the shortages of mental health professionals in rural communities as well as the impact of inadequate mental health services access on rural hospitals.

Methods: A sample frame of 1162 rural hospitals was compiled, and a two-page survey was mailed to each hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Assessment of blood pressure knowledge among workers in a midwestern manufacturing plant. A pilot study.

This pilot study assessed knowledge of blood pressure among employees in a midwestern manufacturing plant. The Seventh Report of the Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Pressure (JNC 7) guidelines were used to define blood pressure categories. The Roy Adaptation Model served as the framework.

Illinois 4-H health jam for healthy lifestyles and rural pipeline awareness.

This article discusses knowledge and encouragement of healthy lifestyles and health professions career awareness in rural youth. The Northern Illinois 4-H Health Jam, an innovative program targeting rural elementary school children to offer information and support related to exercise, wellness, nutrition, and health careers is described. From 2006 to 2008, a total of 262 youth have participated in the Health Jam, which is based on an experiential learning approach.

Perspectives on rural health workforce issues: Illinois-Arkansas comparison.

Context: Past research has documented rural physician and health care professional shortages.

Purpose: Rural hospital chief executive officers' (CEOs') reported shortages of health professionals and perceptions about recruiting and retention are compared in Illinois and Arkansas.

Methods: A survey, previously developed and sent to 28 CEOs in Illinois, was mailed to 110 CEOs in Arkansas.

A comprehensive medical education program response to rural primary care needs.

This article presents the characteristics and results of the Rural Medical Education (RMED) Program which addresses medical workforce needs focused on reducing rural health disparities. The program is comprehensive in implementing a system of recruitment of candidates from rural backgrounds, offering a rural-focused curriculum, and instituting evaluative components to track outcomes. Distinctive program features include a Recruitment and Retention Committee of rural community members; special rural-focused topics and events during the first three years of undergraduate medical education; and a required fourth-year, 16-week rural preceptorship through which students work with primary care physicians and conduct community-oriented primary care projects.

Rural Illinois hospital chief executive officers' perceptions of provider shortages and issues in rural recruitment and retention.

Background: It is important to assess rural health professions workforce needs and identify variables in recruitment and retention of rural health professionals.

Purpose: This study examined the perspectives of rural hospital chief executive officers (CEOs) regarding workforce needs and their views of factors in the recruitment and retention process.

Methods: A survey was mailed to CEOs of 28 Illinois rural hospitals, in towns ranging from 3,396 to 33,530 in population size.

Gender differences in career progression and career satisfaction among graduates of a midwestern M.H.S.A. program.

This article compares factors influencing career success among male and female health services manager alumni. A sample of 833 M.H.

Framework for assessing causality in disease management programs: principles.

To credibly state that a disease management (DM) program "caused" a specific outcome it is required that metrics observed in the DM population be compared with metrics that would have been expected in the absence of a DM intervention. That requirement can be very difficult to achieve, and epidemiologists and others have developed guiding principles of causality by which credible estimates of DM impact can be made. This paper introduces those key principles.

Preventive health services use, lifestyle health behavior risks, and self-reported health status of women in Ohio by ethnicity and completed education status.

This study assessed the health status and behavior of college-educated and non-college-educated African American women and European American women in Ohio. Analyses focused on health services utilization, health status, and life style/health behaviors from the 1998 Ohio Family Health Survey. College-educated African American women used more preventive health services and had better health status than non-college-educated African American women.

Career characteristics among graduates of a Midwestern M.H.S.A. program: variation by gender and length of time since graduation.

This study examined whether differences occur in the careers of men and women graduating from a Midwestern Master's degree program in hospital/health services administration (M.H.S.