Rural Health
Research Gateway

Public health

Completed Projects

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

2024

  • Availability and Quality of Dialysis in Rural Counties with a High Diabetes Burden
    This project examined the degree to which counties with a high population risk for end stage renal disease, defined by high diabetes prevalence, are served by dialysis providers. It assessed the accessibility and quality of services for end stage renal disease looking for disparities associated with rural residence and racial/ethnic population composition.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Diabetes, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Public health, Quality
  • Clinical-Community Linkages in Non-Metropolitan and Metropolitan Hospitals: COVID-19 Impacts and Trends
    This study examined trends in partnerships between hospitals and public health departments and other community linkages in both non-metropolitan and metropolitan hospitals with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Networking and collaboration, Public health, Social determinants of health
  • 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

  • A Chartbook of Rural Population Health
    This project created a chartbook of population health for rural areas. This resource was designed to allow policymakers and practitioners to better understand rural-urban disparities across a wide variety of population health indicators.
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Public health
  • An Innovative Approach to Targeting Rural Communities in Public Health Funding
    The Centers for Disease Control launched a new initiative to address COVID-19 related health disparities and to advance health equity among underserved and at-risk populations. This effort included state funding to address the needs of rural communities. This project was designed to better understand this initiative and its impact on rural health.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare financing, Public health
  • Assessing Geographic Variability in Key Indicators of Water Quality and Air Quality: A Comparison of Urban vs. Rural Communities
    The purpose of this project was to compare air and water quality indicators across U.S. Census tracts specifically focusing on rural vs. urban differences.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Health disparities and health equity, Public health, Social determinants of health
  • Examining Rural-Urban Differences in Availability of Hospital Cardiac Testing Services Between 2010-2020
    This project will examine whether the availability of hospital-based cardiac testing services has changed over the past ten years in rural and urban counties and identify the characteristics of counties where service availability has changed.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Public health
  • Following the Money: Do Block Grant Resources Reach Rural Communities?
    This project applied a mixed methods design to describe the distribution of block grant resources from federal agencies through states to the local level in rural and non-rural communities in the United States. Findings could guide federal agencies and policy makers to develop strategies to more effectively target block grant resources to ensure that the needs of vulnerable rural populations are addressed.
    Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare financing, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics
  • Rural Health Access: Affordability and Barriers to Care
    Rural-urban comparisons of healthcare access and affordability predate many policy reform efforts aimed at increasing access and decreasing costs—ongoing concerns of rural families. This study used national health survey data to examine rural-urban differences in access to medical care, access to insurance, and affordability of care.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health reform, Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Private health insurance, Public health, Social determinants of health

2021

  • Capacity of Rural Counties to Respond to an HIV or Hepatitis C Outbreak
    Rural counties may be potentially vulnerable to an HIV or Hepatitis C outbreak among persons who inject drugs. Using mixed methods, we provided an understanding of the rural areas at risk of an outbreak based on their state and county characteristics and an assessment of their public health infrastructure.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Public health, Substance use and treatment
  • Evaluating the Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program
    This project identified factors that facilitate and impede success of Rural Health Network Development grantees, based on discussions with grantees from the 2019 cohort and surveys of prior grantees dating back more than 10 years, as well as with technical assistance providers.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Networking and collaboration, Public health, Quality

2016

  • Exploring Rural and Urban Mortality Differences
    This project examines the impact of rurality on mortality and explores the regional differences in the primary and underlying causes of death. It also explores the role of the rural public health systems in addressing social determinants of health.
    Research center: North Dakota and NORC Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
    Topics: Public health, Social determinants of health

2014

  • Examination of Trends in Rural and Urban Health: Establishing a Baseline for Health Reform
    The purpose of this project is to update and supplement the seminal Health, United States, 2001: Urban and Rural Health Chartbook. Resulting information can not only be compared to the 2001 Chartbook but provides a baseline from which to measure future change related to the Accountable Care Act implementation. Where appropriate additional charts are included wherein rural areas are subdivided by type.
    Research center: North Dakota and NORC Rural Health Reform Policy Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Public health

2013

  • 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
  • Recent Rates of Black Lung Disease in Relation to Black Lung Treatment Centers
    Recent evidence indicates that black lung disease among coal miners, after a long period of declining incidence, has begun to increase. This increase is disturbing because safety standards, if adhered to faithfully, should be able to prevent most black lung disease from occurring. The reasons for the increase are not known, although evidence has revealed that the mines most likely to show increases are smaller coal mines located in some areas of central Appalachia, and there are concerns that safety regulations at these smaller mines may not be practiced with complete fidelity.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Public health
  • Rural H1N1 Experience
    This project aims to describe the rural H1N1 experience, including comparisons of rural vs. urban H1N1 vaccination rates, and describe rural H1N1 incidence, care patterns, and mortality. Additionally, through key stakeholder interviews, we will describe the rural needs in decisions relative to H1N1 vaccine distribution.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Public health

2012

  • 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
  • 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

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

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

  • Developing and Using a Classification Schema to Identify Sentinel Communities in the U.S.
    This project will enable rural researchers to track the effect of current policies on rural communities, anticipate the effect of proposed policies, and demonstrate policy effects that link one sector to another.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Public health, Transportation
  • Diabetes Burden and the Lack of Preventive Care in the Rural United States
    The project is designed to determine if there are disparities in diabetes care provided to persons with diabetes residing in rural areas as compared to those in urban areas. Additionally, the project will examine diabetes related health care resource utilization with implications for improving care and reducing the economic burden.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Health disparities and health equity, Public health

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 Public Health Department Structure and Infrastructure
    This project is intended to generate hypotheses about the relationship of local public health department structure and infrastructure to performance. Using case studies of 12 rural public health departments in six geographically diverse states, investigators hope to identify elements of local health department (LHD) structure to serve as independent variables for future studies of LHD performance.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Networking and collaboration, Public health

2004

2003

  • 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

2002