A - 68 The Underrepresentation of Board-Certified Neuropsychologists Practicing in Rural Areas: a Diversity Issue and Call for Action

Abstract Objective Despite the increasing growth of the discipline of clinical neuropsychology, there remains a lack of research as it pertains to the unique understanding and delivery of neuropsychological services in rural areas. The purpose of this study is to determine if there are a proportionate number of board-certified neuropsychologists practicing in rural, urbanized clusters, and urbanized areas as what would be excepted per the population according to the United States (U.S.) Census with the prediction that there will be less than expected board-certified neuropsychologists practicing in rural areas. Methods A database of board-certified neuropsychologists both through the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) and the American Board of Professional Neuropsychology (ABN) was created for a total of 1620 board-certified neuropsychologists. Members were coded as either rural (5000 to 50,000 people). A Chi-square goodness of fit test was run comparing the proportions of board-certified neuropsychologists in rural, urbanized clusters, and urbanized areas with the expected proportions based on national population proportions. Results There were significantly fewer than expected board-certified neuropsychologists practicing in rural and urbanized areas as compared to the rural and urbanized area population per the U.S. Census Bureau (X^2 (2) = 7704.565, p < 0.001). Conclusion As predicted, rural areas have fewer board-certified neuropsychologists than would be expected. Not predicted was the finding of less board-certified neuropsychologists practicing in urbanized areas than would be expected. This finding suggests rural and urbanized areas are underserved, though tracking neuropsychologists who are not board certified is challenging.