Children and adolescents

Current Projects

• Access to and Provision of Child and Youth Behavioral Health Services in the Rural and Urban U.S.
  The need for behavioral health treatment for youth has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about the availability of youth behavioral health providers in rural areas. This study will investigate who provides behavioral health services to youth, how equitably the workforce is distributed, and gaps in service availability.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Allied health professionals, Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Physician assistants, Physicians, Substance use and treatment, Workforce
  
• Disparities in Mental Health Services Access: the Intersectionality of Residence Rurality, Race, and Ethnicity
  In 2021, approximately 8.6 million rural adults faced mental health challenges while millions of rural adolescents battled major depressive episodes. This study examines disparities in mental health services uptake and variation in mental health care settings across racial-ethnic and rural-urban subpopulations before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
  Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health services, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health
  
• Neonatal Care at Rural Hospitals: Describing Access, Closures and Levels of Childbirth-Related Care
  This project will describe access to childbirth-related care for families living in rural and urban communities; it will document access to neonatal care and the levels of that care, describe rural counties that have lost access to neonatal care, and identify rural counties without access to either obstetric or neonatal services.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  
• Oral Healthcare Utilization and Outcomes of Rural and Urban Medicaid-Insured Children in the United States
  Using nationally representative Medicaid claims data, this project will determine rural-urban differences in the prevalence of early childhood caries, preventative dental visits, and restorative dental visits.
  Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Medicaid and CHIP, Oral health, Rural statistics and demographics
  
• Public Health Insurance Coverage Among Rural and Urban Children
  Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) are important sources of health insurance coverage for rural children, yet analyses have shown a decline in overall U.S. coverage in recent years. This study will use the American Communities Survey to examine rates of Medicaid/CHIP coverage among rural versus urban children and whether these have changed over time.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Medicaid and CHIP
  
• The Intersection of Race/Ethnicity and Rurality in Pediatric Asthma: Trends and Predictors
  Little is known about the extent to which the intersection of race/ethnicity and rurality plays a role in the disparities associated with asthma outcomes, particularly among children. Using the National Inpatient Sample from 2015 – 2019, this project identified trends in pediatric asthma-related hospitalizations and the significant predictors of them, particularly by considering interaction terms.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity