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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Children and adolescents

Completed Projects

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

2024

  • How are Rural Health Clinics Serving Pediatric and Obstetrical Medicaid Populations?
    This project examined the roles of independent and provider-based Rural Health Clinics in serving pediatric and obstetrical patients covered by state Medicaid programs.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Healthcare financing, Maternal health, Medicaid and CHIP, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Women

2016

  • Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Health Status of Rural Residents
    The proposed project will (1) assess the prevalence of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in rural populations and (2) examine associations of ACEs with health outcomes in rural versus urban settings.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Children and adolescents

2014

  • Health Insurance Stability Among Rural Children Following Public Coverage Expansions
    While estimates indicate that the uninsured rate among rural children has dramatically decreased since the 1997 passage of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), it is not clear whether or not coverage has become more stable and uninsured spells shorter. The purpose of this study is to investigate changes in insurance stability among rural and urban children following CHIP, and whether this is affected by specific state eligibility and enrollment policies or clusters of policies. Using the 1996, 2001, and 2004 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), we will measure rural-urban differences in uninsured spell length and frequency, sources of coverage before and after uninsured spells, movement between sources of coverage, how these measures of stability have changed over time, and the factors that relate to greater continuity of coverage among rural children.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Medicaid and CHIP, Uninsured and underinsured

2013

  • 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, Mental and behavioral health
  • Perinatal Health in the Rural United States, 2005
    This study examines perinatal outcomes in rural areas across the United States in 2005.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Women

2010

  • Access to Mental Health Services and Family Burden of Rural Children with Significant Mental Health Problems
    The needs of rural children with serious emotional disturbance and the burden these needs place on their families are intertwined and may place these rural children and their families at "double jeopardy" of having their mental health and other needs go unmet. Using the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs and information on community characteristics from the Area Resource File we will examine the factors associated with whether children and their families have their needs meet across the rural continuum.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Mental and behavioral health
  • Rural Emergency Department Preparedness for Pediatric Care
    While many large cities have dedicated children's hospitals or facilities with pediatric emergency departments, many general hospitals do not have either the equipment necessary to provide optimal pediatric emergency care nor staff that is specifically trained in the care of pediatric emergencies. This project will use secondary data analysis and semi-structured interviews with emergency room directors in order to address how the availability of pediatric services, expertise and supplies in U.S. emergency departments differs between urban and rural facilities, and to determine which factors impede the availability of pediatric services, expertise, and supplies in rural emergency departments.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Hospitals and clinics
  • Rural Medicaid and CHIP Mini-Studies
    Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are important sources of health insurance coverage in rural communities and it is likely that the importance of Medicaid/CHIP will grow as job-based health insurance coverage continues to erode and policymakers pursue the goal of expanding coverage. This project is composed of three mini-studies that: 1) Update our State Profiles of Medicaid and CHIP in Rural and Urban Areas website, adding information on Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments to rural hospitals; 2) Analyze trends in Medicaid/CHIP enrollment in rural and urban areas over the past two to three years; and 3) Explore the future role of CHIP given increasing levels of childhood poverty.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Medicaid and CHIP

2008

  • Changes in U.S. Rural Perinatal and Infant Health Care During the Last Decade
    This study examined changes in rates of adverse birth outcomes and prenatal care among rural Americans during two time periods. The study used national data from the Linked Birth Death Data Sets to assess differences in low birth weight, neonatal death, post neonatal mortality and inadequate prenatal care.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Maternal health
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Children's Mental Health Services
    This study uses data from the Urban Institute's National Survey of America's Families to examine and compare the use of mental health services by rural and urban children, age 6 to 17, relative to their need for mental health care, family income, and insurance status.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Mental and behavioral health

2007

  • Hospitalizations of Rural Children for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions
    This project uses state inpatient discharge data from six states, data from the Area Resource File and the AHRQ Pediatric Quality Indicators to examine Ambulatory Care Sensitive Condition admission rates for rural children.
    Research center: Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Chronic diseases and conditions

2005

  • Access to Health Care for Young Rural Medicaid Beneficiaries
    This study examined access to health care among rural children ages 0-17 who are enrolled in some type of Medicaid managed care program, and will compare this access across types of programs and, within program type, to that of urban beneficiaries.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Medicaid and CHIP, Oral health, Transportation

2004

  • Unmet Needs for Health Care Services: An Analysis of Children with Special Health Care Needs in Rural Areas
    This project will study whether parents of children with special healthcare needs (CSHCNs) who live in rural areas are less likely to perceive the need for routine and specialty medical care than their metropolitan counterparts, and whether CSHCNs that live in rural areas face a greater risk of having unmet needs for healthcare services than their metropolitan counterparts.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Disabilities, Health services, Oral health

2003