Building the future healthcare workforce: the impact of Oregon AHEC scholars’ program 2018 - 2022

This study summarizes findings from four cohorts of Oregon Area Health Education Centers Scholars (2018–2022). Area Health Educations Centers (AHECs) aim to expand the healthcare workforce, especially in rural and underserved areas likely to experience workforce shortages. The AHEC Scholars Program, a component of all AHECs nationally, supports health professions learners interested in rural/underserved practice through didactic curricula on core topics about rural/underserved populations and clinical training in these settings. A retrospective pre-post survey was administered assessing changes in self-reported perceptions of knowledge of core topic areas and issues related to health and wellness in specific underserved populations, along with intention to practice in rural or under-resourced settings before and after participation in the AHEC Scholars Program. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to assess pre- and post-participation differences in working knowledge and intent to practice in rural/underserved settings. Participants reported higher ratings following the Oregon AHEC Scholars Program compared to their retrospective pre-program ratings. Differences were found in perceptions of working knowledge ratings for all six core topic areas, and for health and wellness for special populations (p < 0.001). Lastly, perceptions of intention to practice in rural or underserved settings were also rated more highly post-program compared to pre-program ratings for all of the assessed practice settings. The Oregon AHEC Scholars Program appears to be effective in training healthcare professions learners in core topics in rural/underserved healthcare and health and wellness for specific populations and is associated with an increase in learners’ perceptions of their intent to practice in a variety of rural and underserved settings. These findings have implications for addressing workforce maldistribution and the health of patients living in rural or medically under-resourced areas.