title: The Arkansas Southern Rural Access Program: strategies for improving health care in rural areas of the state.
abstract: Rural residents often have poorer health than their urban counterparts. Many factors, including the availability of rural health care providers, contribute to their poorer health status. The Arkansas Southern Rural Access Program offers innovative strategies for improving health care in rural areas of the state including assisting with recruitment and retention, developing rural health networks, nurturing rural health leaders, and facilitating the availability of development capital to enhance the rural health care infrastructure. This paper describes the program, its components and successes, as well as how these resources can be accessed by health care providers around the state.
authors.affiliation: College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock 72205, USA.
authors.forename: Holly C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Felix
authors.forename: Elaine B
authors.initials: EB
authors.lastname: Wootten
authors.forename: M Kate
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D001131:Arkansas; D019058:Community Networks; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000191:economics; D006295:Health Resources / Q000600:supply & distribution; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011365:Professional Practice Location / Q000191:economics; D012041:Regional Medical Programs; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000191:economics / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D000078329:Workforce