Rural Health Research Recaps

The Rural Health Research Centers are committed to providing timely, quality national research on the most pressing rural health issues, often exploring the same topics from various perspectives. Gateway has developed Rural Health Research Recaps to identify the key findings from all of the research centers on specific rural health topics.

• Rural-Urban Differences in Housing Crowdedness, Cost Burden, Stability, and Quality
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2024
  In 2021, rural residents were more likely to own their homes than urban residents (76.4% vs 68.6%). This Recap examines differences in housing crowdedness, cost burden, stability, and quality by rural-urban location.
• LGBTQ+ Health: Rural vs Urban Inequities
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 03/2024
  From 2019-2020, rural lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults were more likely to report poor/fair self-rated health than rural heterosexual adults. This Recap examines self-rated health, chronic conditions, mental health, and social and emotional support systems for LGBTQ+ populations.
• Post-Acute Care in Rural Areas: The Role of Swing Beds and Nursing Homes
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 03/2024
  Patients who have received acute care services, but are not ready to safely return home, may transition to post-acute care (PAC). The PAC phase acts as a bridge between the hospital and the next steps to recovery. This Recap examines the roles that swing beds and nursing homes have in PAC.
• Quality Star Ratings: Hospitals, Skilled Nursing Facilities, and Home Health Agencies
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 03/2024
  In 2021, 41.6% of rural hospitals lacked an overall quality star rating compared to only 12.0% of urban hospitals. The absence of a star rating may be misinterpreted by patients as an indicator of low-quality care. This Recap examines star ratings among hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, and home health agencies.

• Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 08/2023
  As of March 31, 2023, there were 4,040 Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas in rural areas, with 2,141 practitioners needed to remove the designations. This recap examines the behavioral health workforce supply, including the distribution of counselors, psychiatric nurse practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.
• Rural Hospital Closures: 2023 Update
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 06/2023
  From 2005 through 2022, 186 rural hospitals either closed completely or converted to facilities that no longer provide in-patient care. This Recap explores the current state of rural hospital closures in the United States.

• Aging in Place
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 10/2022
  From 2013 to 2017, rural counties had higher shares of population age 65 and older than urban counties (18.1% vs 14.3%). This Recap examines aging in place as it relates to social engagement, living alone, long-term care preferences, and nursing home availability.
• Maternal Health Disparities: An Intersection of Race and Rurality
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 10/2022
  In 2019, 30.8% of rural counties had no obstetric clinicians of any type. This Recap examines the loss of hospital-based obstetric services and racial/ethnic disparities surrounding maternal and infant health.
• Travel Burden to Receive Health Care
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 10/2022
  The average rural resident traveled 120% more miles per one-way trip to receive medical or dental care than the average urban resident, in 2017. This Recap explores travel burdens to receive care, including time spent in travel, distance traveled, financial burden of travel, public transportation use, and motor vehicle fatalities.
• Rural Mental Health
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 09/2022
  This Recap examines mental health conditions and treatment across rural and urban areas, including: serious mental illness, major depression, adverse childhood experiences, and suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts.
• Opioid Use Disorder and Treatment: Rural-Urban Comparisons
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 02/2022
  This Recap examines rural-urban comparisons related to the prevalence of opioid use disorder (OUD), the impact of OUD on hospitals and emergency departments, and prescribing buprenorphine for OUD treatment.

• Rural Nursing Workforce
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 12/2021
  Urban nurses, on average, earn nearly $4,500 more per year than rural nurses. This Recap on the rural nursing workforce explores RN-to-BSN education programs, nurse practitioners as primary care providers, job preparedness and satisfaction, and rural challenges.

• Rural Ethnic/Racial Disparities: Adverse Health Outcomes
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2020
  Rural minority group populations often experience dual disparities in health. This Recap summarizes adverse health outcomes across these populations including premature death, age-adjusted mortality, disability status, and obesity rates.
• Rural Ethnic/Racial Disparities: Social and Systemic Inequities
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2020
  This Recap examines social and systemic inequities that influence disparities in health among minority group populations. Rural non-white populations experience both residence-based and racial/ethnicity-based health disparities.

• Healthcare Access and Status Among Rural Children
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 08/2019
  More than half (56.6%) of all rural counties in the U.S. do not have a pediatrician, which can have a negative effect on the health status of rural children. This Recap provides a summary of the research on pediatric health status, health outcomes, and access to care in rural areas.
• Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage Among Rural Children
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 08/2019
  This resource examines pediatric insurance coverage, poverty rates, and Medicaid enrollment by race/ethnicity in rural and urban communities. The Recap also presents a summary of the research on the impact of coverage on rural access to care.
• Rural Obstetric Services: Access, Workforce, and Impact
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 04/2019
  This resource presents current hospital-based obstetric closure rates and characteristics of rural communities without and losing obstetric services, as well as the impact of limited access on maternal and child health.
• State of Rural Women's Healthcare Utilization and Health Indicators
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 04/2019
  Rural women face barriers to accessing preventive health screenings, mental health services, and maternal healthcare. This Recap provides a summary of the research on rural women's utilization of healthcare services, maternal substance use, and other health indicators.
• Quality of Care in Rural Hospitals
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 01/2019
  This Rural Health Research Recap looks at hospital quality-of-care measures and the difficulties of developing quality measures, especially for rural hospitals with low patient volumes.

• Rural Communities: Age, Income, and Health Status
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2018
  While studies discuss the implications of income or age on health-seeking behavior, health status, access, or utilization of care, it is imperative to recognize what this means for older and lower-income rural communities. This Recap identifies rural disparities in age, health status, and income.
• Opioid Use and Treatment Availability
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 01/2018
  This resource examines opioid use in rural communities, as well as the perceived need for and utilization of treatment for opioid use disorder, based on a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers' most recent research.

• Effects of Rural Hospital Closures
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 12/2017
  From January 2005 through early November 2017, 124 rural hospitals closed in the U.S. This Recap, two of two, provides a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers' most recent research on the effects of these closures.
• Rural Hospital Closures
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 12/2017
  From January 2005 through early November 2017, 124 rural hospitals closed in the U.S. This Recap, one of two, provides a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers' most recent research on hospital closures.
• Rural Behavioral Health
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2017
  Rural behavioral health issues are compounded by a lack of access to care, workforce shortages, reimbursement issues, and high rates of uninsured or under-insurance. This resource provides a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers' most recent research on behavioral health.