Rural Health
Research Gateway

Health promotion and disease prevention

Completed Projects

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

2024

  • 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 disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthcare access

2023

  • Diabetes Management in Urban and Rural Areas of the U.S.
    This project used the IBM MarketScan database to examine differences in type 2 diabetes prevalence and monitoring for a commercially insured sample. It also employed definitions from the Health Effectiveness Data and Information Set guidelines for comprehensive diabetes care to determine if rural residents are more or less likely to meet recommended standards for type 2 diabetes monitoring and control.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Health disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthcare access, Private health insurance, Quality
  • 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

2021

  • Do Rural Breast and Colorectal Cancer Patients Present at More Advanced Disease Stages than Their Urban Counterparts?
    Access to recommended cancer screening is more difficult for rural residents than their urban counterparts. This study used the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results Program (SEER) data to examine the extent to which rural residents present at more advanced disease stages for breast and colorectal cancer diagnosis than urban residents.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Health disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services
  • Predictors and Barriers to Achieving Immunization in Rural and Urban Areas
    Prenatal and timely childhood immunizations offer the optimal strategy for preventing severe morbidity and mortality due to vaccine-preventable disease. This project evaluated possible gaps in immunization services for pregnant women and their infants in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Maternal health

2020

2019

  • Preventive Health Service Use Among Rural Residents
    Examining differences in rural-urban preventive health service use is critical to assessing the impact of health benefit design changes on access to preventive services and their use among rural and urban populations. We used National Health Institute Survey data to compare receipt of preventive health services among rural and urban adults.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Women

2018

  • Addressing Rural Social Isolation as a Health and Mortality Risk Factor
    This project aimed to describe rural/urban differences in the prevalence of social isolation, as well as to identify challenges and strategies related to addressing rural social isolation in order to inform policy-making.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Health promotion and disease prevention
  • Barriers and Disparities Associated with Pneumococcal Immunization Among Rural Elderly Adults
    Our Center conducted analyses of national survey data and unique insurance claims data sets to identify how rurality of residence and key demographic, social, and economic characteristics serve as barriers or facilitators to vaccination against pneumococcal disease, which is relatively common although largely preventable among older Americans.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention

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: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention, Medicare

2013

  • Racial and Rural Differences in Cervical Cancer Screening Practices
    The purpose of this study is to describe and compare racial and rural differences in cervical cancer screening practices using data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. The findings will inform policies to increase appropriate access to quality cancer-preventive services.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention, Minority health, Women

2009

  • Preventive Care: Supports and Barriers to Best Practices for a National Sample of Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
    Preventive health screenings are generally underutilized in the United States by the elderly, especially those residing in rural areas. Using an integrative approach, including secondary data analysis of a large nationally representative dataset (Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey) and complementary qualitative interviews with rural elders, the proposed research study aims for a more complete understanding of the factors influencing use of these practices.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Aging, Health promotion and disease prevention
  • 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

2008

  • 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

2003

  • Chronic Disease Management in Rural Areas
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention
  • Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document for Rural Areas
    This project identified and examined approximately one dozen high priority objectives for rural health as a subset of the hundreds of objectives defined within Healthy People 2010 including, Access to Quality Health Services (Insurance, Primary Care, and EMS); Cancer; Diabetes; Heart Disease and Stroke; Maternal, Infant, and Child Health; Mental Health and Mental Disorders; Nutrition and Overweight Concerns; Oral Health; Substance Abuse; and Tobacco Use.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Diabetes, Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health
  • Rural Healthy People 2010: Expansion Project
    The purpose of this expansion project is to build on the findings of Rural Health People 2010 by concentrating on the 13th and 14th highest ranking rural priority areas (Immunization and Infection Diseases; Injury and Violence Prevention) and their associated models for practice.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health, Violence and abuse
  • Unhealthy Lifestyle Behaviors Among Minority Group Members: A National Rural and Urban Study
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention, Minority health

2002