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Public health

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

2023

  • State Priorities and Needs: The Role of Block Grants
    Journal Article
    ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2023
    This study looks at state-level funding allocations for 5 federal block grant programs from 2015-2019, and associations with state-level measures of need that align with the purposes of each block grant program.
  • Opportunities and Challenges of Using Carve-Outs to Fund Rural Public Health Initiatives: Evidence From the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Journal Article
    Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2023
    This project explores the impact and lessons learned from the first large-scale rural carve out of a CDC funding initiative. Based on stakeholder interviews, our analysis found they supported this funding mechanism and that the funds were being used in interesting and creative ways.
  • COVID-19 Vaccination Rates
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis, Rapid Response to Requests for Rural Data Analysis
    Date: 03/2023
    This rural data brief provides a longitudinal examination of completion of primary COVID-19 vaccination series in the age-eligible population in metropolitan, micropolitan, and noncore counties.
  • Rural Working-Age Adults Report More Cost Barriers to Health Care
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2023
    Using the 2019-2020 National Health Insurance Survey, this study examined rural-urban differences in affordability of care and cost-saving strategies among working-age adults.

2022

2021

2020

  • Substance Use Among Rural and Urban Youth and Young Adults
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2020
    This study uses national data to examine rural-urban differences in the rates of substance use among youth and young adults. Findings can help inform rural-specific prevention strategies and research targeting rural communities.
  • Metropolitan/Nonmetropolitan COVID-19 Confirmed Cases and General and ICU Beds
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Date: 05/2020
    The spread of COVID-19 across rural areas has fueled concern about the availability of healthcare resources for dealing with the pandemic. This brief looks at a single measure of healthcare resources – hospital beds – and reports of current COVID-19 cases in a single week to assess the impact on rural facilities.

2019

  • Healthy People 2020: Rural Areas Lag in Achieving Targets for Major Causes of Death
    Journal Article
    Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2019
    For the period 2007-2017 rural death rates were higher than urban rates for the seven major causes of death analyzed, and disparities widened for five of the seven. In 2017 urban areas had met national targets for three of the seven causes, while rural areas had met none of the targets.
  • Preventive Health Service Use Among Rural Women
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 04/2019
    This study used the National Health Interview Survey to examine differences in receipt of preventive health services among rural and urban women. It found that rural women are less likely to receive HPV vaccines and mammograms, even controlling for rural-urban sociodemographic and resource differences.
  • Rural-Urban Differences in the Decline of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking
    Journal Article
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2019
    Comparing survey data from 2008-2010 with 2014-2016, we examined change over time in cigarette smoking among rural and urban adolescents. We found that both rural and urban rates declined, but the decrease was smaller in rural counties, which widened the rural-urban gap in adolescent smoking rates.

2016

2015

  • Implications of Rural Residence and Single Mother Status for Maternal Smoking Behaviors
    Policy Brief
    Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2015
    This study finds rural mothers are more likely than urban mothers to smoke. The authors suggest policymakers consider extending insurance for smoking cessation programs through the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid. Programs at the local, state, and national levels also could help reduce disparities in smoking-related morbidity and mortality.

2014

2013

2012

  • Receipt of Recommended Radiation Therapy Among Rural and Urban Cancer Patients (Summary)
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2012
    This study examines whether rural patients with cancer are less likely than their urban counterparts to receive recommended radiation therapy. The study also identifies factors influencing rural versus urban differences in radiation therapy receipt.
  • Childhood Asthma in Rural-Urban Areas
    Policy Brief
    West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2012
    This policy brief examines how asthma may be related to rural areas adjacent or non-adjacent to larger population centers, to variation in measures of air quality, to varying levels of agricultural and animal production, and to other characteristics such as obesity, race/ethnicity, or health insurance.
  • Childhood Asthma in Rural-Urban Areas (Final Report)
    West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2012
    This report examines how asthma may be related to rural areas adjacent or non-adjacent to larger population centers, to variation in measures of air quality, to varying levels of agricultural and animal production, and to other characteristics such as obesity, race/ethnicity, or health insurance.
  • Water Fluoridation and Dental Health Indicators in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States
    Policy Brief
    West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2012
    This policy brief investigates the availability of fluoridated water across urban and rural settings.

2011

2010

2009

2008

2006

2004

2002

  • Rural-Urban Differences in the Public Health Workforce: Findings From Local Health Departments in Three Rural Western States
    Journal Article
    WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2002

    Most local health departments or districts are small and rural; two thirds of the nation's 2832 local health departments serve populations smaller than 50,000 people. Rural local health departments have small staffs and slender budgets, yet they are expected to provide a wide array of services during a period when the healthcare system of which they are a part is undergoing change.

    This study provided quantitative, population-based data on the supply and composition of the rural public health workforce in 3 extremely rural states: Alaska, Montana, and Wyoming. The study focused on the relative supply of personnel in the principal public health occupational categories, differences across states in staffing levels, and difficulties experienced in recruiting and retaining personnel.

2001