PTJ Author Interview: Geographic Disparities in Rehab Provider Availability

About this episode

This episode discusses geographic disparities in rehabilitation provider availability in Texas, highlighting the impact of community demographics on access to care.

In this episode of the PTJ Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Steven George, PT, PhD, FAPTA, talks with Madeline Ratoza, PT, DPT, PhD, Rupal Patel, PT, PhD, and Julia Chevan, PT, DPT, PhD, who used a cross-sectional geographic information systems approach across census tracts and licensure records to look at rehabilitation provider availability in Texas. Their study found that availability varies dramatically and is often much lower in communities with higher disability prevalence and poverty rates, and with larger proportions of Hispanic and non-white residents. The authors discuss what inspired the research question, how they defined access as a metric, and the follow-up actions they recommend from the study. Ratoza, Patel, and Chevan are co-authors of the article “ Geographic Disparities in Rehabilitation Provider Availability and Community Demographics in Texas: A Cross-Sectional Geographic Information Systems Study .” Read the article on the PTJ website and follow PTJ on LinkedIn and Bluesky for more research updates.

People in this episode

Host: Steven George

Guests: Madeline Ratoza, Rupal Patel, Julia Chevan

Topics covered

• rehabilitation
• geographic disparities
• provider availability
• disability
• community demographics

Keywords

• rehabilitation
• provider availability
• geographic disparities
• disability prevalence
• community demographics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: American Physical Therapy Association

Books & works: Geographic Disparities in Rehabilitation Provider Availability and Community Demographics in Texas: A Cross-Sectional Geographic Information Systems Study

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