title: Recruiting doctors from and for underserved groups: Does New Brunswick's initiative to recruit doctors for its linguistic minority help rural communities?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Within health care, there are underserved groups. New Brunswick's French-speaking minority, which also mostly lives in rural communities, is one such group. A physician shortage potentially prevents this population from accessing health promotion and clinical prevention services. This study analyzes whether New Brunswick Francophone doctors with rural backgrounds are more likely than doctors from urban regions to set up practice in rural communities of the province.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was sent to 390 New Brunswick Francophone physicians admitted in medicine between 1973 and 2000. It collected information on geographic origin and history of medical practice. Multivariate logistic regressions were used to identify whether a rural background is associated with the likelihood of ever and currently practicing in rural communities. We used the General Practice Rurality Index-simplified to quantify the rurality level of communities.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 264 (67%) physicians participated. A rural background was positively associated with the establishment of a first medical practice in a rural community. This relationship was only significant among family physicians. There was no statistically significant relationship between rurality of community of origin and rurality of current community of practice among either family or specialty physicians.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although Francophone doctors with a rural background were more likely than their urban counterparts to set up their first practice in a rural community, this effect was not sustained. This raises questions as to why they leave rural communities and highlights the importance of measures to retain doctors as a way to promote public health for underserved rural groups.
authors.affiliation: Centre de formation médicale du Nouveau-Brunswick. jacinthe.beauchamp@umoncton.ca.
authors.forename: Jacinthe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Beauchamp
authors.forename: Mathieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bélanger
authors.forename: Aurel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schofield
authors.forename: Rachel
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bordage
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Landry
mesh_terms: D002321:Career Choice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008913:Minority Groups; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009509:New Brunswick; D010560:Personnel Selection / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D011365:Professional Practice Location / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019035:Rural Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D000078329:Workforce
keywords: Medically underserved area; minority groups; personnel recruitment; professional practice location; rural health services