Rural communities face disproportionate shortages of healthcare professionals, resulting in diminished access to care, longer wait times, fewer available services, and, ultimately, poorer health outcomes. Workforce development is a critical component to addressing these gaps and improving the health and well-being of rural Americans.
Understanding the necessary skills and training needed to meet rural communities’ health workforce demands, while addressing the needs of healthcare workers, is essential to attract and retain a highly skilled healthcare workforce.
Westat has played a pivotal role in evaluating the success of workforce development initiatives, including employment and training programs, and uses innovative methods to determine program impacts and outcomes.
Evaluation of the Nurse Corps Program
Westat recently completed an evaluation of the Health Resources and Services Administration’s (HRSA’s) Nurse Corps program, which supports qualifying nursing education expenses and incentivizes nurses to work in facilities and communities facing shortages. The evaluation includes a cost-benefit analysis of the program, an analysis of administrative data, and interviews with and a survey of program participants and alumni designed to understand their long-term employment decisions.
“Findings from our evaluation of the Nurse Corps program indicate that many participants intend to continue serving rural areas and medically underserved communities for the long term, including participants who had not lived in those areas before and were not intending to if not for the Nurse Corps program,” said Brandon Hesgrove, PhD, a Westat Principal Research Associate. “This points to the program’s potential as a model for future workforce development initiatives in healthcare.”
“The Nurse Corps program offers valuable lessons for future healthcare workforce initiatives,” added Meg Tucker, MS, a Westat Principal Research Associate. “Westat teams with clients to apply these kinds of insights and accelerate effective solutions.”
Westat’s Work in Healthcare Workforce Development
Services
Westat’s Labor and Workforce Development Research
Projects
How can informatics improve health center operations?
How can we grow the nurse supply?
Reports
The U.S. Nursing Workforce: Trends in Supply and Education – results in brief
Peer-Reviewed Manuscripts
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Perspective
Reimagining Care Delivery for Rural CommunitiesAugust 2026
Rural communities often face persistent barriers to healthcare access, including provider shortages, long travel distances, limited behavioral health services, and challenges coordinating care across providers…
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Perspective
Westat @ JSM 2026: Improving Lives by Advancing SocietyJuly 2026
Westat staff will be attending and presenting at the 2026 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM 2026) in Boston, Massachusetts, August 1–6. The meetings, which are hosted…
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Perspective
Healthcare Transparency Empowers Patients and Strengthens TrustJune 2026
Healthcare transparency supports informed decision-making, strengthens patient trust, and empowers patients to play a more active role in their own care. Health agencies and organizations,…