North Carolina needs primary care clinicians to support the state’s rapidly growing population, and the Primary Care Clinician Index from the Sheps Center tracks changes in the healthcare workforce. This recent article in the NC Medical Journal discusses the changes that this index shows in the NC healthcare workforce, highlighting the statewide patterns in clinician location and type.

To learn more, check out the ADL’s December 1 Highlighted Resource: Unpacking the Primary Care Clinician Index: Understanding How Changes in Population and Workforce Supply Affect Access to Primary Care in North Carolina

For more on health factors in NC, check out the latest issue of the NC Medical Journal: Turning the Curve: Halfway to Healthy North Carolina 2030

Many patients with high blood pressure also struggle with limited access to food. A group of North Carolina researchers recently investigated which method of food insecurity interventions worked best to help patients improve their high blood pressure, evaluating food subsidies, delivered food boxes, and lifestyle counseling.

To learn more, check out the ADL’s November 1 Highlighted Resource: Food Insecurity Interventions to Improve Blood Pressure: The Healthy Food First Factorial Randomized Clinical Trial

In honor of Health Literacy Month, the ADL is highlighting an article about how the concept of health literacy has expanded to address different ways that patients interact with health systems.

The updated definition of health literacy in Healthy People 2030 points out the ways that health organizations are responsible for making their information accessible and understandable, as an essential part of health literacy.

To learn more, check out the ADL’s October 15 Highlighted Resource: Updating Health Literacy for Healthy People 2030: Defining Its Importance for a New Decade in Public Health

Workplace violence in healthcare has been discussed with increasing frequency since the COVID pandemic.

August 31 is recognized each year as Overdose Awareness Day, to share knowledge necessary to end overdose deaths and to remember those who have passed from overdoses.

NC AHEC Digital Library to be Relaunched with Major Improvements on June 23, 2025

On June 23, 2025, a new and improved ADL will launch, introducing a simplified and more efficient search function, called a discovery service.

The new ADL’s discovery service will allow users to search in all our resources at once. This makes searches easier, faster and more efficient, and ensures all the relevant information will be presented in the search results.

After the change, most users will access the ADL through the MyAHEC portal. Make sure you have an active MyAHEC account by June 22, 2025. Go to www.ncahec.net/create-account to create an account.  

If you have any questions about creating your account, you may contact your Librarian, Janice Moore, at jdmoore@wakehealth.edu.

How can healthcare providers check whether they are prepared to support their patients' mental healthcare needs?

ADL News for Blog Post

The Northwest AHEC Practice Support Team supports social, physical, and economic environments which promote attaining the full potential of health and well-being for all. This blog segment highlights impactful publications which promote improved health outcomes through Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) each month.

Our featured report this month discusses reducing disparities in health care.

Reducing disparities in health care. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/reducing-disparities-health-care. October 23, 2023. Accessed November 12, 2024

In this article, the AMA aims to enhance health outcomes and reduce inequities across all patient populations. They also agreed to raise awareness of health imbalances and the importance of understanding culturally competent health care and health literacy by working with state medical societies, medical schools, medical students and policymakers.