Rural and remote healthcare workforce have unique educational requirements. In an effort to tailor online educational modules to the needs of this unique group, a survey was created and submitted for peer input and direction. We created an email database for connecting with rural healthcare workforce and stakeholders to explore and create a survey of educational topics related to rural health.
Our presentation explores both the creation of our outreach and the results of our educational survey for rural health.
GOALS
Initially, our goal was twofold: assemble a list of stakeholders for further networking and distill down a large number of educational topics to five to ten subjects for our initial focus and creation. We feel we succeeded in both and learned about which rural health leaders were more inclined to complete our survey and participate.
MATERIALS & METHODS
Creation of an email database of relevant stakeholders was created using a proprietary subscription service. An initial list of cloud based educational topics was devised and then distilled down to 7 primary topics using an analysis plan. Following creation of a survey using a third-party paid service, the stakeholders were sent a copy of this survey to solicit input. Results were interpreted through data coding.
FINDINGS & RESULTS
Our survey responses were much less than initially anticipated. We also noted a larger discrepancy between occupations of responders. We did notice a larger than expected number of correlations in responses on preferences of educational topics.
Our largest group of responders were rural health facility CEOs. This could have skewed our data which indicated a preponderance towards revenue streams and financial learning. Also, unexpectedly there was low interest in participating as guest lecturers in webinars.
CHOICES AND POINTS
The ranking options were given a point value so we could apply an average ranking and determine which educational topic was of most interest to our responders.
RANKING
Using our third party software we applied “Average Ranking” to calculate which choice was most preferred.
w = weight of ranked position
x = response count for answer choice
CONTRIBUTION & COLLABORATION
DISCUSSION WHAT WE OBSERVED ON OUR RURAL HEALTH EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH
Perhaps our largest feeling after completion of this project was that the rural health community frequently feels underrepresented and not heard but when given an opportunity to contribute, many chose not to participate.
We would also like to be part of encouraging increased cooperation with rural health stakeholders and leaders.
BIAS
Potential barriers to completion of our survey could have included the relatively short response window, which it was only delivered via email and was only sent to “upper level management”.
We also noted, based on the number of CEO participants and their responses that they are the ones scrambling for solutions and working to trouble shoot problems for their facilities and communities.
Lastly, we learned that based on our survey, rural health facilities are most interested about generating new revenue streams and grant writing.
FUTURE GOALS
AB Med looks forward to partnering with critical access and rural hospitals to improve practice management. We are also working on completion of our cloud based learning platform and educational modules, targeted to the rural health workforce. Let’s Connect.
SPECIAL THANKS
COVID-19 Disclaimer
At AB Med, accuracy is our highest priority, and everything we publish is up-to-date based on research and news at the time of release. However, due to the continually evolving nature of COVID-19, we are aware that available data changes quickly. The available data and recommendations may have changed since this article’s publication. Please check the CDC, WHO, and your local health department for the most current recommendations and news.
REFERENCES & RESOURCES
By: Erik McLaughlin MD, MPH and Aikaterini Papadopoulou, B.Arch
