What is it about?
The U.S. is facing a severe behavioral health workforce shortage. The federal government has deployed loan repayment programs as a policy tool to increase behavioral health workforce recruitment and retention. This paper reviews the literature on loan repayment programs and their impact on the behavioral health workforce.
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Why is it important?
Our review finds that although federal loan repayment programs are an important and effective tool to address the behavioral health workforce shortage, additional federal policy strategies are needed to attract and retain behavioral health providers and to diversify the behavioral health workforce.
Perspectives
I am consistently struck by the fact that there are so many people who want to help others; they simply can't afford the upfront costs of graduate training. Federal policies that make graduate training affordable will help increase the behavioral health workforce and improve the country's behavioral health crisis.
Briana Last
Stony Brook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Impact of U.S. Federal Loan Repayment Programs on the Behavioral Health Workforce: Scoping Review, Psychiatric Services, February 2024, American Psychiatric Association,
DOI: 10.1176/appi.ps.20230258.
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