These Border County Health Workforce Profiles provide consistent information on the health workforce, relevant population characteristics, and basic health indicators for the U.S.-Mexico Border region in the States of

• Arizona,
• California,
• Florida,
• New Mexico, and
• Texas.

The Profiles are based on county-level data and reported by geographic proximity to the Border.

The great variability of health and workforce indicators between the Border States and between smaller regions within each State has traditionally been hidden in the aggregate totals and averages that have been used to describe the Border.

The Border County Health Workforce Profiles present county-level data obtained from State health agencies and health professions licensing boards to develop social/health indicators and practitioner-to-population ratios, respectively. These indicators help describe health status and health disparities in the U.S. regions that lie next to Mexico as well as provide information on the number of practitioners available to address the health needs of the areas.

The Profiles are organized into three sections:

• A summary of State highlights for health status and the health workforce.

• Three categories of tables:
  • Population and health status,
  • health professions (physicians, dentists, and registered nurses, non-physician clinician providers and mental health providers), and
  • health infrastructure.
• A set of appendices that list counties included in the analysis by geographic area and a review of data sources.

These data may serve as a benchmark for updates and for complementary data from Mexico. It is through additional tracking of data and summary of results for future years, and comparison of previous findings, that planners, policy makers, and program administrators will be able to measure the impact that programs may have on the reduction of health disparities for individuals living in the four Border States and Florida and particularly for those citizens living in closer proximity to the U.S.-Mexico Border.

published May 2007