Rural Health
Research Gateway

Women

Completed Projects

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

2024

  • How are Rural Health Clinics Serving Pediatric and Obstetrical Medicaid Populations?
    This project examined the roles of independent and provider-based Rural Health Clinics in serving pediatric and obstetrical patients covered by state Medicaid programs.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Healthcare financing, Maternal health, Medicaid and CHIP, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Women
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Domestic Violence as a Contributor to Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
    Using 2016-2020 data from the CDC's Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, this project assessed the prevalence of domestic violence among rural and urban residents who give birth. We also analyzed how screening and support services could be improved to support rural families that experience domestic violence, including during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Maternal health, Social determinants of health, Violence and abuse, Women

2023

  • Improving Racial Equity for Rural Mothers and Infants
    The purpose of this project was to assess differences in maternal and infant health outcomes and access to perinatal care, among urban and rural counties. We also compared health outcomes and availability of services, including evidence-based services and supports, between rural counties that are majority Black, Indigenous, and People of Color with those that are majority white.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: American Indians and Alaska Natives, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Minority health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health, Women
  • Overcoming Barriers to Providing Rural Obstetrical Training for Physicians
    Rural communities struggle to maintain obstetrical (OB) services, due in part to scarce rural training opportunities for obstetricians and family physicians. This study described the availability, characteristics, and output of residency and fellowship programs offering rural OB training and identified solutions to support this training.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Maternal health, Physicians, Women, Workforce
  • Rural/Urban Differences in Postpartum Health Insurance, Healthcare Use, and Health Outcomes
    The purpose of this project was to identify rural/urban differences in health insurance, healthcare use, and health outcomes among postpartum individuals, and to describe policy-relevant implications or strategies to improve insurance coverage, receipt of recommended healthcare, and, ultimately, health outcomes among rural residents who give birth. With a lens towards health equity, all analyses were stratified by race/ethnicity and income.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: American Indians and Alaska Natives, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Hispanics, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Maternal health, Medicaid and CHIP, Minority health, Private health insurance, Women

2022

2021

  • Rural Versus Urban Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence
    This project determined rural-urban disparities in the prevalence of intimate partner violence-related hospitalizations using a national representative sample of hospital admissions for the period between 2009-2014 using data from the national Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Violence and abuse, Women
  • Trends in Preterm Birth by Rural Status in the U.S.
    This project determined rates of preterm birth by rural versus urban residence and across census regions. The project also examined the relationship between preterm birth and maternal characteristics, including race and ethnicity as well as pregnancy complications among women in rural versus urban residence.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Maternal health, Women

2020

  • Emergency Obstetrics in Communities Without Hospital-Based Maternity Care
    The purpose of this project was to describe rural hospitals that do not provide obstetric services and to survey a sample of these hospitals regarding their capacity for emergency obstetrics locally in order to inform policy to support access to high-quality maternity care for all pregnant rural residents.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  • Making It Work: Models of Success in Rural Maternity Care
    The purpose of this project was to update information on access to obstetric services in rural counties, to identify common factors across rural communities that have maintained local hospital-based obstetric services, and to describe best practices associated with successfully supporting birth locally in rural communities.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  • Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) 2009 Food Package Revisions on Participants in Rural Areas with Extreme Poverty Levels: Impact on Infant Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, and Health Outcomes
    This study examines the effects of the revised Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program food packages on breastfeeding rates among WIC participants in areas designated as rural, with high levels of extreme poverty and food deserts, and/or high rates of those who are overweight and obese.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Maternal health, Poverty, Women

2019

  • Developing Rural-Relevant Strategies to Reduce Maternal Morbidity
    The purpose of this project was to distinguish and analyze predictors of maternal morbidity during childbirth hospitalization by geography and to develop recommendations to improve the safety of childbirth for rural residents. It also assessed the degree of rural focus and representation in current policy efforts to address this crisis.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  • 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

  • Rural-Urban Differences in Opioid-Affected Pregnancies and Births
    This analysis aimed to combat the opioid epidemic in rural communities by describing the rates and predictors of non-medical opioid use prior to and during pregnancy and maternal diagnosis of opioid use disorder at birth, based on rural or urban maternal residence and rural or urban hospital location.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Maternal health, Substance use and treatment, Women

2017

  • Are Rural Mothers and Infants Benefiting from Changes in National Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Policy?
    This study explored breastfeeding practices among rural participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program before and after a federal policy change in WIC Food Packages. National Food and Nutrition Survey data was used to examine the potential impact on breastfeeding, infant feeding practices, and food/beverage consumption.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Maternal health, Poverty, Women
  • Obstetric Unit and Hospital Closures and Maternal and Infant Health in Rural Communities
    This project will examine the relationship between closure of an obstetric unit or hospital and maternity care and outcomes of childbirth in rural US counties including prenatal care, distance to delivery hospital, out-of-hospital birth, and infant health outcomes.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Women

2016

2015

  • Rural Women Giving Birth in Non-Local Hospitals: Implications for Obstetric Access and Quality
    The purpose of this project is to: 1) analyze recent data from nine geographically diverse states on delivery by rural women at non-local hospitals; 2) characterize the roles of medical vs. non-medical factors in delivery at a non-local hospital by identifying lower-risk and higher-risk women using established criteria; and 3) analyze the relationship between delivery at a non-local hospital and obstetric quality.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Quality, Women

2013

  • Perinatal Health in the Rural United States, 2005
    This study examines perinatal outcomes in rural areas across the United States in 2005.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Women
  • Quality of Obstetric Care and Perinatal Safety in Rural Hospitals
    The project will use both national and state-level hospital discharge data to examine obstetric care quality and perinatal safety in rural U.S. hospitals, with an in-depth focus on rural hospitals in a nationally representative group of eight states across all four U.S. Census regions.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Maternal health, Women
  • 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

2006

  • Declining Access to Hospital-based Obstetric Services in Rural Areas: Causes and Impact
    This study examines the declining availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It examines potential causes for this trend and explores the effects of medical malpractice reforms.
    Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
    Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Maternal health, Women

2005

  • Poverty, Parental Stress, and Violent Disagreements in the Home Among Rural Families
    Using the National Survey of Children's Health, this study will address the prevalence of poverty, parental stress and violent disagreements in the home in rural and urban families. Associations among economic hardships, parent stress, violent disagreements in the home and mental health problems in children will also be investigated.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Poverty, Violence and abuse, Women
  • Quality of Women's Care in Rural Health Clinics: A National Analysis
    This study will analyze the rates at which women patients receive five recommended preventive screening interventions in a national, geographically stratified random sample of Rural Health Clinics. Results of the analysis will be used to derive implications for rural health policy.
    Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Quality, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Women

2004

1999

Unknown

  • The Rural/Urban Practice Location Patterns of Women Medical School Graduates
    While women are becoming an increasingly large percentage of the graduates of medical schools, they are much less likely to locate their practices in rural towns. This study involved a survey including questions about where the residents preferred to locate and how much they thought they would be practicing in the future.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Physicians, Women, Workforce