Gender differences in factors associated with rural health care practice in Minnesota

Purpose: To understand gender differences in factors affecting rural health care workforce to inform the development of effective policies and recruitment strategies to address rural health care workforce shortages. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of health care professionals (including Advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs), physicians, physician assistants (PAs), and registered nurses (RNs)) in Minnesota was administered by the Minnesota Department of Health from October 18, 2021, to July 25, 2022, during their professional license renewal. The main outcome was whether or not the respondent was practicing in a rural area. The effects of factors associated with rural practice were estimated using binary logistic regression models, and subsequently subgroup analysis was conducted by gender across the four health care professions. Findings: Results show that although there were significant gender differences in some factors (growing up in a rural area and family considerations were more likely to influence women's decisions than men's, whereas men were more likely to be influenced by the prospect of having autonomy and broad scope of practice than women), these differences became insignificant when the four health care professionals were analyzed separately suggesting that overall gender differences observed were almost entirely explained by profession differences. Conclusions: Gender differences do not significantly influence the factors impacting rural practice. However, being raised in a rural environment emerges as the most influential predictor of rural practice underscoring the importance of involving rural residents of all genders in health care practice.