Cancer

Completed Projects

Listed by project completion date. You can also view these projects alphabetically.

2024

• Rural and Urban Cancer Survivors' Follow-Up Care Experiences
  This project examined rural vs. urban differences in cancer survivors' follow-up care experiences using the 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
  Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Care management, Health services, Healthcare access, Physicians, Post-acute care, Quality
  
• Rural/Urban Variations in Cancer Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic
  Using the National Cancer Institute Health Information National Trends Survey, we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the receipt of recommended screenings for common cancers. Findings informed policymakers about potential widening of rural/urban disparities in the receipt of cancer preventive services and the potential need to target these services toward rural residents.
  Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthcare access
  

2023

• Assessing Cancer Care Coordination in Rural Health Clinics During a Pandemic
  This project aimed to understand how Rural Health Clinics perceived and implemented evidence-based cancer screening and treatment and related intervention strategies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  
• Rural and Urban Primary Care Physicians' Colorectal Screening Performance
  The objectives of this project were to profile, compare, and further understand rural versus urban differences in colorectal screening performance among primary care physicians nationally.
  Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention, Healthcare access, Physicians
  

2022

• Cancer Prevention and Control Activities in Rural Hospitals
  This project aimed to understand how rural hospitals perceive and implement evidence-based cancer screening and treatment and related intervention strategies.
  Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Hospitals and clinics
  
• Planning and Pilot Testing of Evidence-Based Cancer Prevention and Control Interventions with Rural Health Clinics
  This project leveraged growing collaborative efforts between the University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center, South Carolina Office of Rural Health, South Carolina Primary Health Care Association, and Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare to assess and improve cancer prevention and control among rural South Carolina residents.
  Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
  

2021

• Cardiovascular & Cancer Rates for the Rural Delta Region
  This interactive tool can be used to compare county-level rates and incidence of cancer and cardiovascular related health measures for people residing in the lower Mississippi River Delta Region. Users may filter by various health measures and download images and data.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Obesity
  

2020

• Rural Colon and Cervical Cancer Environmental Scan
  Detailed research was needed to provide a complex, textured picture of rural healthcare and the ways in which existing federally supported providers could provide adequate services across the continuum of cancer care from prevention through survivorship.
  Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topic: Cancer
  

2019

• Access and Quality of Care for Rural Patients with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  Although rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are substantially higher in rural areas, there has been limited research on healthcare access and quality issues for individuals with COPD who live in rural communities. This project aimed to improve the accessibility and quality of care for rural COPD patients.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Quality
  
• Do Rural Communities Have a Higher Rate of Avoidable Deaths?
  Based on some estimates, roughly half of deaths were avoidable in the sense they stem from risky behavior. What was less well known was the degree to which there was a rural-urban disparity in this rate.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topic: Cancer
  
• Promotion of Rural Health Research Center Attendance at Cancer-Related Meetings
  This project will promote attendance at cancer-related meetings by Rural Health Research Centers by facilitating the dissemination of information regarding important cancer meetings and handling the travel arrangements for Rural Health Research Center personnel.
  Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topic: Cancer
  

2016

• Colorectal Cancer Screening Bypass Behavior and Outcomes
  Studies have shown that increased distance to the closest endoscopy provider is associated with lower screening utilization among Medicare enrollees. The purpose of this study is to expand beyond the Medicare population to examine the travel behaviors of the entire population, comparing urban vs. rural residents in obtaining endoscopies for colorectal cancer screening.
  Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention, Medicare
  

2013

• Do Rural Patients with Early Stage Prostate Cancer Gain Access to All Treatment Choices?
  This research will use cancer registry data from 10 states to examine the degree to which rural residents diagnosed with early stage prostate cancer access the full range of surveillance, surgical, and radiation treatment options. Study findings will inform cancer centers, advocacy groups, rural program planners, and policymakers about services and programs needed to ensure that rural prostate cancer patients can choose from among all treatment options.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services
  

2012

• Use of Recommended Radiation Therapy in the Rural U.S.
  This study will use cancer registry data from 10 U.S. states to examine which rural cancer patients are receiving recommended radiation therapy, and what factors influence receipt of recommended treatment. Identifying gaps in radiation therapy will inform cancer centers, rural program planners, and policy makers in rural cancer service locations and cancer support program development.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services
  

2009

• Descriptive Analysis of the Health Status of a National Asbestos-Related Cohort
  A collaborative study to establish a more comprehensive understanding of the health status and health service needs of persons exposed to Libby asbestos is being conducted by nurse researchers at Montana State University College of Nursing and healthcare providers at the Center for Asbestos Related Disease in Libby, Montana. Results of the descriptive study will provide healthcare providers and policy makers a better understanding of the health effects and healthcare needs of exposed persons.
  Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services
  

2007

• Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, and Prostate Cancer Screening in Rural America: Does Proximity to a Metropolitan Area Matter?
  The study compared cancer screening rates among various levels of rural versus urban Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System respondents.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention
  

2006

• Pharmaceutical Data Validity in Estimating Rural Population Health
  This project will allow for the quantification of variation in morbidity (via prescription use) across rural areas; identify locations that might be at risk for stunted economic development due to high levels of chronic illness in the working population; and potentially lead to the development of a valid and reliable measure of county-level rates of chronic illness using prescription data as a proxy.
  Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
  Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics
  

2005

• National Study of Home Health Access in Rural America
  This project will develop home health care service areas that will allow for the measurement of access to home health care for rural Medicare beneficiaries who die of cancer, and recommend options for increasing access to home health care in underserved rural areas.
  Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
  Topics: Cancer, Health services, Home health, Hospice and palliative care, Medicare
  

Unknown

• Access to Cancer Services for Rural Colorectal Cancer Medicare Patients: A Multi-State Study
  This study examined a comprehensive database to quantify the distance and access to four types of cancer services in a sample of rural, Medicare-insured, CRC patients, and will inform future work designed to understand discrepancies in cancer service use by the rural elderly.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services, Medicare