2013 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.

Assessing the Impact of Rural Provider Service Mix on the Primary Care Incentive Payment Program
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 12/2013
Under the Primary Care Incentive Payment Program (PCIP), if certain evaluation and management services represented 60% or more of Medicare allowable charges, the provider qualified for a 10% bonus calculated on the primary care portion of allowable charges. This brief assesses the impact of the rural provider service mix on the PCIP.
Telemental Health in Today's Rural Health System
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 12/2013
This policy brief describes the organizational setting, services provided, and staff used in 53 telemental rural health programs. It also outlines the opportunities and challenges for telemental health in the rural health system.
Rural/Urban Differences in Inpatient Related Costs and Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries
Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 12/2013
Medicare beneficiaries who are admitted to rural hospitals tend to have lower outpatient costs than their counterparts at urban hospitals. The differences are due to multiple factors. The analysis suggests that consideration of the total cost of an acute episode of care might be considered, not just the cost of the acute inpatient stay.
Change in Profitability and Financial Distress of Critical Access Hospitals From Loss of Cost-Based Reimbursement
Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 12/2013
Changes to Critical Access Hospitals' reimbursement, such as a reversion to prospective payment, would have marked negative effects on CAHs. About three quarters of CAHs would operate at a loss. The number of CAHs at high risk for financial distress would nearly triple, and nearly half would be at medium-high to high risk of financial distress.
Implications for Beneficiary Travel Time if Financially-Vulnerable Critical Access Hospitals Close
Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 12/2013
Changes to Critical Access Hospitals' reimbursement may spur some to close. This analysis considers the communities served by the 93 CAHs with the lowest profitability and therefore most likely to close due to a change in Medicare reimbursement.
Hospice Workforce: An Annotated Review of the Literature
North Dakota and NORC Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
Date: 11/2013
This report contains an annotated review of hospice workforce literature published between 2000 and 2013. The review was completed to help identify hospice provider types for a hospice workforce study to be completed by the Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center.
Demographic and Economic Characteristics Associated With Sole County Pharmacy Closures, 2006-2010
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 11/2013
This policy brief describes demographic and economic characteristics associated with counties experiencing closure of their sole pharmacy.
Inadequate Prenatal Care in the Rural United States, 2005
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Date: 10/2013
This policy brief finds that the states with levels of rural inadequate prenatal care (less than 50% of expected visits) in the "worst" or "worse than mid-range" categories were largely in southern and southwestern areas of the United States.
Rural Hospice in the United States: A Review of the Literature
North Dakota and NORC Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
Date: 10/2013
This review explores the current environment of rural hospice care in the United States. It provides a discussion of the current structure of hospice services as well as a formal review of current (2000-2013) rural research on the topic.
Rural Hospice in the United States: An Annotated Review of the Literature
North Dakota and NORC Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
Date: 10/2013
This report provides an annotated review of hospice literature published between 2000 and 2013, including resources that have addressed rural hospice care, access, and utilization. The information begins with an overview of hospice organizations and agencies cited most frequently, along with a discussion of their most recent research.
Low Birth Weight Rates in the Rural United States, 2005
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Date: 10/2013
This brief shares that the rural U.S. low birth weight rate in 2005 was significantly higher than the urban U.S. low birth weight rate.
The Aging of the Rural Primary Care Physician Workforce: Will Some Locations Be More Affected than Others?
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Date: 09/2013
This report shows that as the aging primary care physician population retires, rural provider shortages will be further exacerbated.
The Current State of Agricultural Health Research and Practice: Critical Review (Final Report)
West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Date: 09/2013
The report provides an overview of the present state of agricultural health research for healthcare policy makers and providers.
March 2013: Medicare Advantage Update
Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 09/2013
This policy brief discusses current rural Medicare Advantage enrollment data.
Rates of Black Lung Disease in Relationship to Black Lung Treatment Centers (Full Report)
West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Date: 08/2013
This report investigates the rates of black lung disease among active miners in relationship to the location of Black Lung Clinics.
Causes and Consequences of Rural Pharmacy Closures: A Multi-Case Study
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 08/2013
This policy brief identifies factors that contributed to the closing of six rural pharmacies in various states and describes how the affected communities adapted to losing locally based services.
The Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Model: A Potential Health Care Delivery Alternative for Small Rural Communities
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 08/2013
This policy brief describes how the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic model may be appropriate in rural communities beyond the five original demonstration sites.
Accountable Care Organizations in Rural America
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 07/2013
This policy brief reports that Medicare Accountable Care Organizations currently operate in 16.7% of all U.S. non-metropolitan counties.
The Uninsured: An Analysis by Income and Geography
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 06/2013
This brief reports that a larger proportion of the rural versus urban population is uninsured and low income and will be eligible for subsidized Health Insurance Marketplace coverage due to income levels and current lack of insurance.
Promotion and Protection of Rural Miner Health: Are the Resources in Place? (Final Report)
West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Date: 06/2013
This report shows that mining areas in the United States, compared to non-mining areas, have on average better supplies of safety net providers, hospitals, and practicing primary care physicians. However, the study results support the need to examine the availability of safety net provider types in selected geographic areas where mining is done.
Rural Implications of the Primary Care Incentive Payment Program
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 06/2013
This policy brief reports on eligibility among rural primary care providers for the Primary Care Incentive Payments established in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Challenges and Opportunities for Improving Mental Health Services in Rural Long-Term Care
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 06/2013
This study explores practices for increasing the quality, quantity, and accessibility of mental health services in rural long-term care.
Patterns of Care for Rural and Urban Children With Mental Health Problems
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 06/2013
This study reports that rural children are significantly less likely to be diagnosed and treated for non-ADHD mental health problems than urban children and are less likely to receive mental health counseling.
The Rural H1N1 Experience: Lessons Learned for Future Pandemics
West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Date: 06/2013
This report describes the rural H1N1 experience, including comparisons of rural versus urban H1N1 vaccination rates, and describes rural H1N1 incidence, care patterns, and mortality.
Rural Vets: Their Barriers, Problems, Needs
Journal Article
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2013
Evolving population trends--the aging of rural veterans, the growing number of female veterans and rates of homelessness among veterans--place significant demands on VA and rural delivery systems. Coordination among healthcare providers is essential to increasing the availability of services and expanding veteran outreach programs.
September 2012: Medicare Advantage Enrollment Update
Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
Date: 04/2013
This policy brief discusses current rural Medicare Advantage enrollment data.
State Health Insurance Exchanges: Assessing Rural Implications of Statutes
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 02/2013
This report analyzes how five characteristics of health insurance exchanges might address particular rural concerns.
Agricultural Health Training for Rural America
West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Date: 02/2013
This report locates agricultural health programs and courses and describes collaborations that exist between clinicians and agriculture-related agencies.
June 2012: Rural MA Enrollment and Premium Update
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 02/2013
Though 2012 Medicare Advantage enrollment grew and premiums declined, rural enrollees faced higher premiums than urban enrollees. Analysis of the zero premiums by plan in relationship to plans charging premiums gives insights into the MA marketplace.
Rural Residency Training for Family Medicine Physicians: Graduate Early-Career Outcomes, 2008-2012
WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Date: 01/2013
This policy brief provides an update on the rural and shortage area practice outcomes of family physicians who have completed graduate medical education in Rural Training Track (RTT) residency programs.
Rural Pharmacy Closures: Implications for Rural Communities
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 01/2013
This study documents the closure of local retail pharmacies in which the pharmacist was the only clinical provider available in the community at the time the pharmacy closed. This brief describes the characteristics of the communities and retail pharmacies in question.
Are Primary Care Practices Ready to Become Patient-Centered Medical Homes?
Journal Article
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 2013
Measures the readiness of rural primary care practices to be eligible as patient-centered medical homes (PCMHs) by comparing PCMH readiness scores with metropolitan and nonmetropolitan primary care practices.
Rural Population Estimates: An Analysis of a Large Secondary Data Set
Journal Article
University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Date: 2013
Examines in the underrepresentation of rural counties in large secondary data sources, specifically the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS).