Publication Date: April 9th, 2026
Publication Type: Policy Brief
Topic(s): Aging, Disabilities, Health Disparities and Health Equity, Healthcare Access, Rural Statistics and Demographics, Workforce
Author(s): Abram A, Swendener A, Tuttle M, Rydberg K, and Henning-Smith C
Access to quality health care is shaped in part by the availability of medical professionals for a given population and geography, and Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) designations can be a useful indicator to measure this provider access. While differences in health care access are well explained for both disability and rurality throughout literature using HPSAs, there are fewer studies which investigate differences in health care access at the intersection of rurality and disability across the working-age adult and older adult experience. This study addresses this gap.