Supporting rural primary care through Project ECHO: A brief case report

TL;DR

A telementoring program called Project ECHO was developed to reduce burnout and improve care among rural primary care providers.

Contribution

The program created a professional learning community to address rural provider burnout and improve guideline-concordant care delivery.

Findings

Participants showed increased knowledge after the program (p < .001).

The program reduced participants' feelings of professional isolation.

Abstract

Rural primary care providers report increasing rates of professional burnout, which can further exacerbate rural provider shortages and health disparities. From 2023 to 2025, the Project ECHO team at Penn State University developed and delivered an educational rural health telementoring program, collaboratively with stakeholders, to disseminate guideline-concordant care to rural primary care clinicians. The program focused on key rural topics and created a professional learning community aimed at decreasing participant burnout. Self-reported results of the pilot program’s participants (n = 106) demonstrate increased knowledge (p < .001) and reduced professional isolation. Future programing will expand data collection to explore longer-term impact.

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