Donna Felber Neff1, Sul Hee Yoon2, Ruth L Steiner3, Ilir Bejleri2, Michael D Bumbach4, Damian Everhart5, Jeffrey S Harman6. 1. College of Nursing, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL. Electronic address: donna.neff@ucf.edu. 2. Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 3. Center for Health and the Built Environment, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University Of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 4. College of Nursing, Department of Family, Community, and Health System Science, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 5. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, University of Central Florida, Palm City, FL. 6. Department of Behavioral Sciences & Social Medicine, College of Medicine, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: By 2025, experts estimate a significant shortage of primary care providers in the United States, and expansion of the nurse practitioner (NP) workforce may reduce this burden. However, barriers imposed by state NP regulations could reduce access to primary care. PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to examine the association between three levels of NP state practice regulation (independent, minimum restrictive, and most restrictive) and the proportion of the population with a greater than 30-min travel time to a primary care provider using geocoding. METHODS: Logistic regression models were conducted to calculate the adjusted odds of having a greater than 30-min drive time. FINDINGS: Compared with the most restrictive NP states, states with independent practice had 19.2% lower odds (p = .001) of a greater than 30-min drive to the closest primary care provider. DISCUSSION: Allowing NPs full autonomy to practice may be a relatively simple policy mechanism for states to improve access to primary care.
BACKGROUND: By 2025, experts estimate a significant shortage of primary care providers in the United States, and expansion of the nurse practitioner (NP) workforce may reduce this burden. However, barriers imposed by state NP regulations could reduce access to primary care. PURPOSE: The objectives of this study were to examine the association between three levels of NP state practice regulation (independent, minimum restrictive, and most restrictive) and the proportion of the population with a greater than 30-min travel time to a primary care provider using geocoding. METHODS: Logistic regression models were conducted to calculate the adjusted odds of having a greater than 30-min drive time. FINDINGS: Compared with the most restrictive NP states, states with independent practice had 19.2% lower odds (p = .001) of a greater than 30-min drive to the closest primary care provider. DISCUSSION: Allowing NPs full autonomy to practice may be a relatively simple policy mechanism for states to improve access to primary care.
Authors: Lusine Poghosyan; Jordan H Stein; Jianfang Liu; Joanne Spetz; Zainab T Osakwe; Grant Martsolf Journal: Res Nurs Health Date: 2022-07-19 Impact factor: 2.238