Rural Health
Research Gateway

Environmental and agricultural health

Completed Projects

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

2024

  • Housing as a Social Determinant of Rural Health
    The purpose of this project was to identify rural/urban and within-rural differences in housing quality and its relationship to health and disability status, especially for individuals living in poverty. We also identified rural-specific housing issues and innovative policy solutions to address housing challenges in order to improve rural health.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Disabilities, Environmental and agricultural health, Health disparities and health equity, Poverty, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health

2023

2021

  • Lung Diseases Among Coal Miners
    Coal miners are at increased risk of lung diseases. Using secondary datasets, we will assess the distribution of lung diseases across regions, identify patterns of healthcare utilization among miners relative to HRSA-funded Black Lung Clinics, and compare healthcare utilization patterns, behaviors, and comorbidities among miners and non-miners.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Environmental and agricultural health, Health disparities and health equity, Health services

2013

  • Agricultural Health: Current Knowledge and Future Directions
    The health of rural populations is impacted by many factors, of which agricultural activities are one of the most important. Agriculture potentially impacts health through a variety of means, including exposures to pesticides and fertilizers, dust from fields or harvesting, accidents and injuries, or contaminants from animal feed lots including antibiotics, hormones or animal waste. There are also issues facing special populations such as migrant workers, and potential agricultural risks facing children and families of workers.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Environmental and agricultural health
  • Promotion and Protection of Rural Miner Health: Are the Resources in Place?
    Miners are exposed to various potentially harmful agents and dangerous work conditions, and may have difficulty accessing care in some rural settings. The study aims to 1) Locate and map mining communities in the US and rural safety net providers (RHCs, FQHCs and Critical Access Hospitals) in those communities; and 2) Identify environmental health competencies (specifically related to miner health) in rural primary care providers practicing in identified mining communities.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Health services, Public health

2012

  • Agricultural Medicine Training for Rural America
    The purpose of the research is to identify the availability and characteristics of agricultural medicine training opportunities for health care professionals. Agricultural workers and their families face numerous threats to health and safety, and yet there is limited information on health care expertise in place to recognize and prevent threats, and to diagnosis and treat agriculturally-related injury and illness.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Environmental and agricultural health
  • Cancer Hospitalizations in Rural-Urban Areas in Relation to Carcinogenic Discharges from Toxics Release Inventory Facilities
    The purpose of the research is to understand whether discharges of carcinogens from Toxics Release Inventory facilities are related to higher cancer hospitalization rates in rural and urban settings. Evidence for this association will have potential implications for improvements to environmental policy or policies for improved cancer detection and treatment in rural settings.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Environmental and agricultural health, Hospitals and clinics, Public health
  • Childhood Asthma and Air Quality in Rural-Urban Areas
    This study will examine the prevalence of childhood asthma across urban and rural settings. We will examine how asthma may be related to measures of ambient air quality, as well as how asthma may be related to agricultural activity of different types, to proximity to metropolitan areas, and to measures of demographics and health care insurance.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Environmental and agricultural health
  • Environmental Workforce Characteristics in the Rural Public Health Sector
    Environmental risks to rural populations are understudied relative to urban areas despite increasing recognition that rural populations are potentially exposed to these risks from agricultural, mining, industrial or other sources. This project analyzes the environmental workforce characteristics of the rural public health sector to inform policy relative to coordination of rural environmental health services.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Public health
  • Water Quality Issues in Rural-Urban Areas: The Good (Fluoridation), the Bad (Chemical Pollutants) and the Ugly (Health Consequences)
    This study will investigate the availability of fluoridated water across urban-rural settings, and relate measures of fluoride availability to survey measures of dental health. The study will also investigate rural population exposure to chemical pollutants in surface water by measuring volumes and types of discharges from EPA-recognized water pollution sources, including sources located in rural areas and in upstream urban areas, and relating these measures to population health outcomes.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Public health

2011

  • Rural Socioeconomic Risk and Resiliency Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes
    This study will create a national inventory of social and economic risks and resiliencies for every county in the nation, and relate those risks to health outcome data. The study will test whether rural areas with fewer risks and greater resiliencies are related to better health outcomes.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Poverty

2010

  • Key Environmental Competencies for Rural Primary Care Providers
    This study will develop, from existing single discipline standards, a competency guide that will address competencies that are essential for providing environmentally conscious care. The study will then systematically evaluate content validity, completeness and clarity of the competencies.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Public health
  • Toxics Release Inventory Sites and Population Health across Rural and Urban Areas
    Previous research has identified higher mortality rates in rural areas in association with exposure to pollution sources. This study conducts mortality outcome analyses specific to discharges from Toxics Release Inventory sites across the spectrum of rural to urban settings.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Public health

2009

  • Rural Environmental Hazards Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes
    This study will create a national inventory of potential environmental hazards for rural populations. Population health outcomes such as CDC mortality statistics will be examined to determine if poor health outcomes are related to greater exposures to potential hazards.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health, Transportation