Locational Decisions of Physicians in Rural North Carolina

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Abstract
Recent literature suggests that there is a rural-urban imbalance of doctors in the United States. In order to investigate this maldistribution, a survey was conducted of 504 physicians in eastern North Carolina. The objective was to determine the factors which most influenced doctors' decisions to locate their practice. A conceptual framework was used to highlight the influence of the community, medical schools and the physician's personal preferences. A discriminant analysis of rural and urban physicians revealed the doctor's personal characteristics to be most important, followed by community and medical school factors. In particular, physicians raised in smaller communities showed a greater preference for practicing in rural areas. Tactics for recruiting rural doctors and other policy recommendations are suggested.

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