Research Publications

Browse the full list of research publications from the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

Browse Research Products:

• By Date
• By Topic
• By Research Center
• By Researcher

Five Most Recent Publications

• Rural-Urban Trends in the Burden of Diabetes Among U.S. Adults
  Policy Brief
  University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 03/2026
  This brief provides an updated analysis of diabetes incidence, prevalence, and mortality across rural and urban counties. The National Health Interview Survey (2021, 2022, and 2023) provided diabetes incidence and prevalence data. CDC Wonder provided diabetes mortality data.
• Examining Rural Population Characteristics and Access to Care in 2022: A Study of Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Medically Underserved Areas (MUAs)
  Chartbook
  ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 03/2026
  This chartbook presents a national and regional comparison of rural and urban census tracts with and without Health Professional Shortage Area or Medically Underserved Area designations in 2022.
• An Examination of All-Payer Inpatient Rural Hospital Bypass
  Policy Brief
  ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 03/2026
  This policy brief examines inpatient rural hospital bypass in eight states and finds that 30 percent of rural patients received care outside their local hospital for services available nearby. It highlights patterns by payer, admission type, and hospital type, and the implications for rural hospital viability.
• Did Rural Emergency Hospital Converters Avoid Closure
  Journal Article
  North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Date: 03/2026
  This research letter provides the first empirical look at whether the Rural Emergency Hospital (REH) designation is helping financially distressed rural hospitals avoid closure.
• Comparing the Care and Distance Traveled by Rural and Urban Medicaid Beneficiaries With Opioid Use Disorder
  Policy Brief
  WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Date: 03/2026
  This Medicaid claims study describes the treatment for rural versus urban Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Rural Medicaid beneficiaries with OUD had fewer average health care visits (64.6 visits) and traveled more miles on average to access care (70.4 miles) than their urban counterparts (92.3 visits and 32.7 miles).

Archived Publications

• Publication Archive
  Rural health research publications not available elsewhere online.