Aging

Current Projects

• Availability, Care Practices, and Quality of Hospice Providers Serving Rural versus Urban Communities
  This project will examine differences in availability of hospice care in rural versus urban communities as well as provider-level quality and care practices by rural-urban status of hospices. Findings will highlight potential rural-urban disparities in hospice care that can be used to inform future Medicare policy.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health services, Healthcare access, Hospice and palliative care, Medicare, Quality
  
• Causal Effect of Nursing Home Closure on Resident Outcomes in Rural Areas
  We will evaluate the causal impact of nursing home closure on two key outcomes: distance to the transitioned nursing home, and resident physical and mental health outcomes. We will compare the effect of closures on outcomes for rural and urban areas using resident-level data from 2010-2019 and advanced difference-in-differences regression methods.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Aging, Health services, Healthcare access, Long-term care, Post-acute care, Quality
  
• Comparing Utilization and Quality of Home Health Care Between Medicare Fee-for-Service and Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries by Rural-Urban Status
  This project examines differences in home health use and quality by enrollment in Medicare Fee-for-Service (FFS) versus Medicare Advantage (MA) plans. Findings will include information on rural-urban and intra-rural variation in home health care to inform policies on access, payment, and quality for Medicare FFS and MA plans.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Allied health professionals, Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Home health, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA), Post-acute care, Quality
  
• Health Care Use and Access Among Rural and Urban Elderly Medicare Beneficiaries
  This project will examine rural-urban differences in healthcare use and access to healthcare services among elderly Medicare enrollees using the 2011-2013 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. We also will identify the socioeconomic and health factors that may place rural seniors at risk for poor healthcare access.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Medicare
  
• Identifying Characteristics Associated With Rural and Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Bypassing Local Skilled Nursing Facilities for Post-Acute Care
  This project will compare how often rural versus urban beneficiaries receive post-acute care from skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) outside of their local communities, and which patient, provider, and community characteristics are associated with bypass of local SNFs, informing policies to support SNFs in rural communities.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Healthcare access, Long-term care, Medicare, Post-acute care
  
• Rural Nursing Home Staffing, and Resident Health, Closure, and Financial Performance
  There are concerns about availability and quality of care provided in nursing homes in rural areas. This project aims to evaluate staffing levels and shortages, the health status of residents, closures, and financial performance of rural nursing homes both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
  Topics: Aging, Long-term care, Post-acute care
  
• The Nursing Home and Skilled Nursing Facility Workforce in the Rural and Urban U.S.
  This project will describe the rural and urban distribution of nursing and non-nursing staff in U.S. long-term care facilities and investigate how the workforce varies by facility and community characteristics.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Healthcare access, Long-term care, Workforce
  
• Use of Home and Community Based Services by Medicare Beneficiaries
  Using the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, we will examine rural-urban differences in the need for long term services and supports, rates of home and community-based services (HCBS) use, the use of different types of HCBS, and the impact of HCBS on subsequent use of emergent services such as hospitalizations and emergency department visits.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Health services, Home health, Long-term care, Medicare