Networking and collaboration

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2024

Partnerships to Address Social Needs Across Metropolitan and Non-Metropolitan Prospective Payment System Hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals
Policy Brief
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 03/2024
This policy brief used American Hospital Association survey data to examine partnerships between hospitals and external organizations to address social needs.

2023

Multi-Sector Collaboration to Support Rural Aging
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 08/2023
In this paper, researchers examine the lessons rural areas present for supporting aging, including the role that aging and social services, public health systems, and health care have to play.

2022

Evaluating the Rural HIV/AIDS Planning Program
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 01/2022
The purpose of this policy brief is to understand the overall experiences of the first grantee cohort (2020-21) of the Rural HIV/AIDS Planning Program. We pay particular attention to any barriers to or facilitators of successful grant implementation, and the sustainability of programs and acquisition of future funding.

2021

Rural Health Network Development Planning Grants: Geographic Location and Change Over Time
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 11/2021
The purpose of this policy brief is to examine the geographic distribution of Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant recipients across the United States.
Community Health Worker Roles and Their Evolving Interprofessional Relationships in the United States
Journal Article
Southwest Rural Health Research Center
Date: 10/2021
This project analyzes the evolving integration of Community Health Workers (CHWs) into the United States healthcare system. CHWs can aid patients in navigating the complex nature of medical services. Through focus groups with CHWs, three stages in the interprofessional relationships between CHWs and other care providers were identified.
Successes and Challenges to Network Sustainability: Perspectives of 2019-2020 Rural Health Network Development Planning Grantees
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 10/2021
The purpose of this brief is to examine the successes and challenges to network sustainability, as well as barriers to and facilitators of success among the 2019-2020 cohort grantees in the Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program.
Rural Health Network Development Planning Grants Awarded to Entities in Counties With Majority Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color Populations, 2003-2020
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2021
The purpose of this policy brief is to describe the prevalence of Rural Health Network Development Planning Grants awarded to organizations located in counties where the population is majority Black, majority Hispanic, majority Indigenous, has no majority racial or ethnic group, or is located in a U.S. territory.
Success Among Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Awardees: Barriers and Facilitators
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2021
The purpose of this policy brief is to examine the barriers to and facilitators of success for grantees implementing the Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant and meeting their individual goals for the grant period.
Trends in Network Focus Areas Among Network Development Planning Grantees, 2003-2020
Policy Brief
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2021
The purpose of this policy brief is to examine the trends over time in network focus areas among grantees awarded the Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant from 2003-2020.
High-Functioning Rural Medicare ACOs – A Qualitative Review
Policy Brief
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 02/2021
This brief identifies common success factors among four high-performing rural Medicare Accountable Care Organizations.

2018

Trends in Hospital System Affiliation, 2007-2016
Policy Brief
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 11/2018
This policy brief updates a RUPRI Center brief published in 2014 and documents the continued growth in system affiliation by both metropolitan and non-metropolitan hospitals.

2016

Health Information Exchange: A Strategy for Improving Access for Rural Veterans in the Maine Flex Rural Veterans Health Access Program
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2016
This paper reports on the design and implementation of a first-in-the-nation project to expand rural veterans' access to healthcare by establishing a bi-directional connection between Maine's statewide health information exchange (HIE) and Veterans Administration facilities and centers.

2015

Care Coordination in Rural Communities Supporting the High Performance Rural Health System
Report
RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
Date: 06/2015
This paper examines care coordination programs and processes that affect rural areas to discover what is happening in rural communities, how various programs and approaches are working, who benefits, and to make policy recommendations that will facilitate care coordination efforts in support of high performance rural health system development.
Characteristics of Rural Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) - A Survey of Medicare ACOs With Rural Presence
Policy Brief
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 05/2015
In this policy brief, we present the findings of a survey of 27 rural accountable care organizations, focusing on characteristics important to their formation and operation.

2014

Trends in Hospital Network Participation and System Affiliation, 2007-2012
Policy Brief
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 2014
Network participation and system affiliation are two ways for hospitals to build and/or access necessary capacities to engage in the transformation to an integrated, patient-centered, pay-for-value care delivery model. This brief tracks trends in network participation and system affiliation among U.S. general community hospitals from 2007 to 2012.

2004

Information Technology and Rural Health Networks: An Overview of Network Practices
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 05/2004
This paper focuses on the use of information technology in rural health networks, based on detailed interviews with representatives for 15 rural health networks that received funding from the federal Rural Health Network Development Grant program.

2003

Rural Health Networks: Evolving Organizational Forms and Functions
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 06/2003
This report discusses results of a survey of rural health networks. It includes information about the location, membership, relationships, governance, management, process, and products of rural health networks.

2002

How State Rural Health Directors Obtain Policy-Relevant Research Information
NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Date: 03/2002
This policy brief summarizes how information pertinent to rural health policy activities of the state offices is obtained.

2000

Strategic Choices of Rural Health Networks: Implications for Goals and Performance Measurement
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 01/2000
The purpose of this study is to obtain a greater understanding of rural health networks by classifying them according to their functions and purposes. Examples of performance measures that might be used for the different network types are given.