| Report Area | Total Area Population | Population Living in a HPSA | Percentage of Population Living in a HPSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin County, PA | 149,618 | 4,414 | 2.95% |
| Pennsylvania | 12,702,379 | 4,806,927 | 37.84% |
| United States | 308,745,538 | 102,289,607 | 33.13% |
Population Living in a Health Professional Shortage Area
Data Background
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are designated by the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) as having shortages of primary medical care, dental or mental health providers. HPSAs may refer to an entire geographic area (a county or service area), a demographic group within a geographic area (low income population) or an institution (comprehensive health center, federally qualified health center or other public facility).
HPSAs are designated using several criteria, depending on the type of designation. For example, a HPSA may be designated on the basis that medical professionals in contiguous areas are over-utilized, excessively distant, or inaccessible to the population under consideration. HPSAs are also designated based on population-to-clinician ratios. This ratio is usually 3,500 to 1 for primary care, 5,000 to 1 for dental health care, and 30,000 to 1 for mental health care. All Federally Qualified Health Centers and Rural Health Clinics that provide access to care, regardless of patient ability to pay, receive automatic facility HPSA designation.
HPSAs are updated on a continuous basis through the US Health and Humans Services (HHS) Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) GIS data warehouse. For more information about HPSAs, please visit the HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) web page.
Methodology
Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) boundary files were acquired from the US Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) GIS data warehouse. Data from HRSA contained estimates of the total component population, as well as the degree of shortage. Shortages vary based on HPSA designation, and may refer to the total area's full time equivalency* population, or the population of a specific demographic (income, racial, ethnic) group. This indicator reports the total population in the report area that is living in a Health Professional Shortage Area, regardless of the degree of shortage, or whether the HPSA covers the entire geographic area or a population subgroup. Indicator data is based on the following calculation:
* Total equivalency population:
HPSA Designation populations may exceed total census populations in areas with large transient populations as follows:
- Seasonal residents, i.e., those who maintain a residence in the area but inhabit it for only 2 to 8 months per year, may be included but must be weighted in proportion to the fraction of the year they are present in the area.
- Other tourists (non-resident) may be included in an area's population but only with a weight of 0.25, using the following formula: Effective tourist contribution to population = 0.25 x (fraction of year tourists are present in area) x (average daily number of tourists during portion of year that tourists are present).
- Migratory workers and their families may be included in an area's population, using the following formula: Effective migrant contribution to population = (fraction of year migrants are present in area) x (average daily number of migrants during portion of year that migrants are present)
For additional information, including designation procedures and access to the original data, please visit the HRSA Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) web page.
Notes
Race and Ethnicity
Statistics by race and ethnicity are not provided for this indicator from the data source. Detailed race/ethnicity data may be available at a broader geographic level, or from a local source.
Courtesy: Community Commons, <www.communitycommons.org>, November 2017