Arizona Workforce Report: Obstetrician-Gynecologist Physicians and Certified Nurse Midwives

A high-quality maternal health care system relies in part on the right number of well-trained women’s health providers in the right locations (Rayburn, 2017; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, 2016). According to national estimates, Arizona and other states are anticipated to experience an ob-gyn shortage (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, 2016). Using licensure data, we found that there are geographic disparities in the distribution of ob-gyn physicians across Arizona. The ratio of ob-gyns per 10 000 women in urban areas is 2.1, compared to 1.5 in large rural city/towns and 1.1 in small rural towns. There are no practicing ob-gyn physicians in isolated small rural towns. This geographic distribution is mirrored in the CNM workforce, which similarly favors urban over rural areas.