Rural Health
Research Gateway

David Hartley, PhD, MHA

Contact information for this researcher is no longer available, but you can still access their previous work.

Completed Projects - (16)

  • Adolescent Alcohol Use in Rural Areas: What Are the Issues?
    This study will use the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to examine the effect of developmental, individual, and environmental factors on adolescent alcohol use across the urban-rural continuum.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Substance use and treatment
  • Chronic Illness and the Rural Informal Safety Net: The Case of Diabetes
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Uninsured and underinsured
  • Database for Rural Health Research in Progress
    This searchable database of current rural health services research and policy analysis includes all ORHP-funded studies as well as research funded by other federal agencies, major private foundations and other sources.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Health services
  • Effects of Scope of Service and Reimbursement on Access to Mental Health Services in Rural Areas
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Mental and behavioral health
  • Health Reform-Rapid Response
    This project will include several projects as requested by ORHP and DHHS as those agencies prepare for national health reform. Responses are primarily in the areas of health insurance and behavioral health.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare financing, Mental and behavioral health
  • Implications of Mental Health Comorbidity and Rural Residence for Health Care Use Patterns of Individuals with Chronic Disease
    This study will use the 2005-2010 panels of the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to compare the prevalence of concurrent mental health and chronic illnesses across rural and urban populations and to describe relationships among comorbidity, residence, and healthcare use. Findings will inform public and private decisions on how best to allocate new resources available for mental health/primary care integration efforts.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Mental and behavioral health
  • Mental Health Encounters in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Rooms: A National Survey
    This project will survey Emergency Room (ER) managers in a nationally representative sample of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to determine the proportion of ER encounters involving mental health pathology, types of mental health problems most commonly seen in these encounters, and resources available to CAHs to address the problems encountered.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Mental and behavioral health
  • Mental Health Services in Rural Jails
    This project will investigate how rural jails manage the mental health and substance abuse problems of their inmates. Through analysis of the National Survey of Jails and semi-structured interviews with state-level and county-level/local officials, barriers to providing such services will be assessed and promising practices will be documented.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Mental and behavioral health
  • National Study of Substance Abuse Prevalence and Treatment Services in Rural Areas
    This project will research the prevalence of the abuse of legal and illegal substances across rural populations and geographic areas, including the extent to which rural individuals are receiving treatment for their substance abuse and barriers to the receipt of treatment.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Rural statistics and demographics, Substance use and treatment
  • Patterns of Care for Rural and Urban Children with Mental Health Problems
    This study will assess whether use of office-based care and psychotropic medicine by children differs between rural and urban areas, as well as the role of insurance coverage and availability of mental health providers on use of these services.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Mental and behavioral health
  • Provision of Specialty Mental Health Services by Rural Health Clinics
    This project will document the extent to which Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are employing mental health staff nationally, understand why more RHCs are not employing specialty mental health staff, and analyze the barriers to and opportunities for the delivery of mental health services by RHCs. The results will identify opportunities and interventions to encourage RHCs to offer this important service.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Mental and behavioral health, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Substance use and treatment
  • Role of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in Addressing Mental Health Workforce Shortages
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Workforce
  • Role of Community Mental Health Centers as Rural Safety Net Providers
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), Mental and behavioral health
  • Role of Inpatient Psychiatric Units in Small Rural Hospitals and Rural Mental Health Systems
    This is a descriptive, exploratory study which will investigate the role of the small rural hospital Inpatient Psychiatric Units from the perspectives of both the rural hospital, in terms of scope of services and revenue enhancement, and the regional mental health system, meeting the needs of outpatient mental health and primary care providers, law enforcement, and human services.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Mental and behavioral health
  • Rural Maternal Smoking Behaviors
    In this project, we will develop a chart book documenting the prevalence of mental health/substance abuse conditions and describing the utilization of mental health services in rural and urban settings.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Mental and behavioral health, Substance use and treatment
  • Year 2 of the Sentinel Cohort of Rural Health Clinics: Testing, Evaluating and Refining a Set of Rural Health Clinic Quality Measures
    This project implements the set of core consensus quality measures identified during Year One of the Rural Health Clinic (RHC) Sentinel Cohort project among a group of approximately 130 RHCs in 13 states.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Quality, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)

Publications - (30)

2016

  • Understanding the Business Case for Telemental Health in Rural Communities
    Journal Article
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2016
    This article describes the current landscape and characteristics of rural telemental health programs and then examines their business case.
  • Pilot Testing a Rural Health Clinic Quality Measurement Reporting System
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 02/2016
    More than 4,000 Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) serve the primary care needs of rural communities. Unfortunately, the Rural Health Clinic Program is plagued by a lack of data participating clinics. This reports on the results with a focus on assessing the feasibility and utility of the reporting system and quality measures for the participating RHCs.

2015

2014

2013

  • 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.
  • 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.

2012

2010

  • Are Rural Health Clinics Part of the Rural Safety Net?
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 09/2010
    This policy brief examines whether rural health clinics are part of the rural safety net.
  • Safety Net Activities of Independent Rural Health Clinics
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 09/2010
    Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) provide primary care services to rural residents of 45 states. Since RHCs are in underserved rural areas and serve vulnerable populations, many consider them safety net providers. In this paper, we explore whether, and to what extent, independent RHCs are serving a safety net role or have the capacity to do so.
  • Mental Health Services in Rural Jails (Working Paper)
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2010
    This study explored the role of rural jails in the mental health systems in rural communities, investigating how rural jails manage mental health and substance abuse problems among inmates, determining barriers to providing mental health services faced by rural jails, and identifying promising practices for service delivery.
  • Encouraging Rural Health Clinics to Provide Mental Health Services: What Are the Options?
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2010
    This study examined changes in the delivery of mental health services by rural health clinics (RHCs), their operational characteristics, barriers to the development of services, and policy options to encourage more RHCs to deliver mental health services.
  • The Provision of Mental Health Services by Rural Health Clinics
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2010
    This study examined changes in the delivery of mental health services by rural health clinics (RHCs), their operational characteristics, barriers to the development of services, and policy options to encourage more RHCs to deliver mental health services.

2009

  • Mental Health Services in Rural Jails (Policy Brief)
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 09/2009
    The prevalence of mental illness among prison and jail inmates has attracted increasing attention in both mental health and criminal justice circles.

2008

  • Rural-Urban Differences in Work Patterns Among Adults With Depressive Symptoms
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2008
    This study addresses poor mental health among young to middle-career rural residents and how their employment may be affected. Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, the authors investigate how depressive symptoms affect employment patterns and the extent to which such effects differ by rural and urban residence.

2007

2006

2005

2004

2002

2001

  • Addressing Mental Health Workforce Needs in Underserved Rural Areas: Accomplishments and Challenges
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2001
    This study reviews efforts to address mental health workforce needs in rural areas and addresses the questions: How is workforce adequacy measured? How do characteristics of communities and the mental health service delivery system challenge methods for determining workforce adequacy? What role has government played in addressing workforce needs?
  • Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health Programs in Rural Areas
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 08/2001
    This research and policy brief studies which states have implemented Medicaid-managed behavioral health programs in rural areas. It describes the programs in terms of Medicaid populations served, program design, and implementation model and the experience of programs regarding access to/coordination of services.
  • Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health in Rural Areas
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2001
    This study of which states have implemented Medicaid managed behavioral health (MMBH) programs in rural areas describes these programs in terms of Medicaid populations served, program design, and implementation model. It also describes the experience of programs regarding access to and coordination of services.

1996

  • Integrating Primary Care and Mental Health Services: Current Practices in Rural Areas
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 1996
    This publication provides information on models for integrating mental health services in rural community health centers, viability of linkages between primary care and mental health providers, resources available, reimbursement, treatment philosophy, diversification, referral, and enhancement.