Recruitment, Retention, and Evaluation Associated with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Abstract

Healthcare workforce shortages are central to healthcare reform discussions and are critical areas of interest for Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is a financial incentive program that provides scholarship or loan repayment to primary healthcare providers in return for periods of obligation serving federally designated underserved communities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) increased funding to the NHSC program with the intent of strengthening and expanding the NHSC program capacity. In addition to building workforce capacity, funding was made available to State Primary Care Offices (PCOs) for the coordination and implementation of activities to support NHSC participants, enhance recruitment and retention post-obligation, and evaluation of the impact of ARRA funding for the NHSC program.

Indiana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network entered into a contract with ISDH for the purpose of supporting current ARRA-funded NHSC scholars, clinicians, and obligation sites to improve retention and provider satisfaction. In addition, a team of researchers at the Center for Health Policy (CHP) in the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) were subcontracted to perform an evaluation of activities outlined in the AHEC contract and evaluate the impact of ARRA funding on NHSC clinician retention, primary healthcare access, and primary care capacity. The NHSC project team, comprised of key personnel from AHEC and CHP, developed and administered surveys, conducted key informant interviews facilitated focus groups to gather data representing perspectives and experiences from ARRA-funded NHSC clinicians and obligation sites administrators to identify key issues and generate recommendations for the Indiana NHSC Program. The NHSC project team was comprised of key personnel from AHEC and CHP. The team developed and administered surveys, conducted key informant interviews, and facilitated focus groups. The activities were carried out to gather data on perspectives and experiences of ARRA-funded NHSC clinicians and site administrators in order to generate recommendations for the Indiana NHSC Program.