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Is It Important to OBGYN Residents to Provide Care to Underserved Populations in the United States After Residency?
Purpose: To assess obstetrics & gynecology (OBGYN) residents’ intention to provide care to underserved populations in the United States upon completion of residency
Background: The 2017 ACOG OBGYN Workforce Analysis predicted worsening access to care in underserved communities. Despite this, resident intention to provide care in underserved areas has not been assessed.
Methods: OBGYN residents completed an anonymous survey prior to the 2020 CREOG in-service examination. Residents were asked about experience working with underserved populations during residency and the importance of providing care in underserved communities in addition to responding to demographic questions. We used descriptive statistics and chi-square tests for analysis.
Results: A total of 5,427 residents completed the survey. Thirty-eight percent described providing care to underserved populations after residency as very important, 34% as important, and 27% as less or not important. Female and non-male gender and self-identification as Black, Latinx, or multi-racial were more likely to indicate practice in underserved area as very important in comparison to residents identifying as male or White or Asian race (p< .001 for both). More residents with an ambulatory experience (p=.05) and with an elective or required rotation centered around care of underserved groups considered this work very important (p< .001).
Discussions: The majority of OBGYN residents report that care for underserved populations is very important or important in their future practice. Given predicted workforce trends, residency programs should develop educational experiences to prepare OBGYNs to provide care in underserved communities as dedicated experiences were associated with greater importance of providing such care in the future.
Topics:
CREOG & APGO Annual Meeting, 2021, Resident, Residency Director, Residency Coordinator, Patient Care, Systems-Based Practice & Improvement, GME, Public Health,
