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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Chronic diseases and conditions

Completed Projects

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

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
  • Geographic Access to Healthcare for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries: An Update and National Look
    This objective of this study was to compare, at a national and census division level, where rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries receive ambulatory care, which types of specialists they utilize and how far beneficiaries are traveling to obtain care.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services, Medicare, Workforce

2017

  • Who Treats Opioid Addiction in Rural America? Quantifying the Availability of Buprenorphine Services in Rural Areas
    This study will investigate the extent to which physicians who practice in rural areas and have a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) waiver to prescribe buprenorphine as an office-based outpatient treatment for opioid use disorder are providing this treatment to their patients. This study will also estimate the need for office-based opioid disorder treatment in rural locations.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Mental and behavioral health, Pharmacy and prescription drugs, Substance use and treatment

2014

  • 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

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

2011

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

2008

  • Diabetes and Obesity: Is there a Rural-Urban Difference in the Burden?
    Persons with diabetes are more likely to be obese, increasing the economic burden of diabetes related care. Purpose of this study is to examine if being overweight and obese places additional economic burden and if there is a rural-urban difference in this regard. It will help understand the health and economic consequences of diabetes and obesity epidemic on people's health.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Obesity
  • Examining the Magnitudes, Geographic Variations, and Determinants Of Expenditures Due to Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions in Rural Hospitals
    This project will document the magnitude of and variation in ambulatory care sensitive condition (ACSC) expenditures of rural hospitals and explore the relationships between rural hospital ACSC expenditure and its key determinants in the areas of population demand, health care system supply, and provider practice style.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics
  • Financing Rural Public Health Activities in Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
    This project describes the federal-state funding streams for selected local public health activities in the area of chronic disease prevention and health promotion, and assesses potential barriers to program implementation in less populated, local areas of a state.
    Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention, Healthcare financing, Public 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
  • National Study of Rural Medicaid Disease Management
    This project will identify those states with Medicaid disease management (DM) programs that serve clients in rural areas; analyze the characteristics of the rural DM programs, and identify benefits, challenges and issues for Medicaid programs providing DM services in rural areas.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Medicaid and CHIP
  • U.S. Hospitalizations for Ambulatory Care Sensitive Conditions: A Rural/Urban Comparison
    This project will assess trends, patterns, and predictors of hospitalizations for three ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs) (i.e., uncontrolled diabetes, bacterial pneumonia, and pediatric asthma) among rural and urban residents in the United States. The study will involve the examination of 2003 HCUP Nationwide Inpatient Sample data.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Rural statistics and demographics

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
  • Rural Safety Net Provision and Hospital Care in 11 States
    This project evaluated whether access to primary care is more effective at improving health outcomes and reducing costs in rural than urban markets, and identified the characteristics of communities which contribute to improved health outcomes and reducing preventable hospitalizations. This research informs policy relating funding access provision through public clinics to reduce the burden of uncompensated or under-compensated care on financially strained rural hospitals.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services, Hospitals and clinics

2005

  • Access to Physician Care for the Rural Medicare Elderly
    This study described where Medicare beneficiaries in five states obtain their health care, how far they travel for that care, and the mix of physician specialties from which they obtain ambulatory care. Special attention was paid to beneficiaries who have dual Medicare-Medicaid status, who reside in poorer income areas, and who live in designated Health Professional Shortage Areas.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health services, Medicare, Physicians, Poverty
  • Rural Quality Improvement Focus on Diabetes
    This project focused specifically on diabetes care management and quality improvement programming in rural areas as a way to understand the adaptability and policy implications of using chronic care coordination and other models in a rural environment.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Quality

2004

2000

1999

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