Access to Care

Access to care is a complex topic that includes the study of whether sufficient health care resources exist to meet people’s needs, as well as whether people experience physical, financial or other barriers to those services. Evidence in this area can span from whether a rural community has enough specialists, like cardiologists, to whether people in an urban community have transportation or language barriers that make seeing health care providers more difficult.

Blog Post

The Health Data for Action Program Enters Final Year with an Eye Toward the Future of Data Access and Transparency

Representative, accessible, and transparent data is key to improving health outcomes. As our Health Data for Action program enters its concluding year, we are exploring lessons learned and highlight some of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in a three-part blog series.

Posted Mar 12, 2026 By Rishika Desai, M.P.H.

Topics Using Health Data Data Sources Access to Care

Publication

Seeking Abortion Care Across State Lines After the Dobbs Decision

Researchers from Planned Parenthood investigated the experiences of people traveling for abortion care from states with abortion restrictions or bans to Illinois, where abortion is legal, after Dobbs.

Posted Mar 09, 2026

Topics Access to Care Hospitals & Health Systems Delivering Better Care

Blog Post

Policymaker Focus on HSAs as Affordability Fix-All for Expiring Premium Tax Credits Misses the Mark

With the ACA premium tax credits expiring, some policymakers are proposing broadening access to health savings accounts (HSAs) as a fix-all to consumers’ health care affordability concerns, despite evidence to the contrary.

Posted Feb 17, 2026 By Annaliese Johnson, M.P.P.

Topics Access to Care Public & Population Health Insurance, Medicare & Medicaid Costs & Payments

Blog Post

New Behavioral Health Workforce Projects Explore Supervision, Crisis Services, Private Practice Economics, and Clinician Retention

AcademyHealth highlights four new projects at the UNC Behavioral Health Workforce Research Center that will generate timely evidence on key behavioral health workforce challenges. AcademyHealth will support dissemination of findings to the health services research community.

Posted Dec 16, 2025 By Annaliese Johnson, M.P.P.

Topics HSR Workforce Development Delivering Better Care Access to Care Quality Improvement

Blog Post

Why Maternal and Child Health Researchers Must Center Bodily Autonomy to Remain Relevant in the Post-Dobbs Era

Researchers and advocates often overlook the fundamental issue of bodily autonomy in post-Dobbs abortion discourse.

Posted Sep 22, 2025 By Tiffany Green, Ph.D.

Topics Access to Care Health Equity Delivering Better Care

Blog Post

Navigating Reproductive Health Post-Dobbs: What We Know About Changes In Contraception

As states impose new abortion restrictions, contraceptive choices are becoming more important and controversial, driving interest in long-term methods and revealing even more barriers to access

Posted Sep 3, 2025 By Maria I. Rodriguez, M.D., M.P.H., Megan L. Kavanaugh, Dr.P.H.

Topics Health Equity Access to Care

Publication

Systemic Barriers to Community Living Experienced by People of Color in Institutional Settings

This study explored systemic barriers to community living that contribute to institutional placements and heighten challenges to transitioning back to the community for disabled people of color.

Posted Sep 01, 2025

Topics Access to Care

Publication

AcademyHealth Announces the Best of 2025 Annual Research Meeting

Research nominated as the best abstract for each theme from the 2025 Call for Abstracts explores topics related to how prepared hospitals are for the next pandemic, gender differences in primary care physician earnings and outcomes, and methods for decomposing heterogeneous treatment effects.

Posted May 07, 2025

Topics HSR Workforce Development HSR Resources & Methods Public & Population Health Health Equity Insurance, Medicare & Medicaid Access to Care Building Healthy Communities

Blog Post

AHRQ in Your Community: How National Investments Improve Local Health Care

AHRQ's research and implementation support improves the health of all communities. Given the recent changes and reductions in force at HHS, it is imperative that the work to improve care at the local level continues.

Posted Apr 8, 2025 By Jaime Adler, M.S., M.P.H.

Topics Building Healthy Communities Public & Population Health Delivering Better Care Access to Care

Blog Post

Bridging the Gap: AHRQ’s Role in Rural Health Care Access Amid Hospital Closures

AHRQ pioneers initiatives that break down barriers to care and improve health for rural Americans. Given the recent announcement on the reorganization of HHS, we’re highlighting AHRQ’s crucial role in rural health care.

Posted Apr 2, 2025 By Marley Catlett, M.P.H.

Topics Building Healthy Communities Public & Population Health Delivering Better Care Access to Care