Maine Rural Health Research Center
Completed Projects
Analysis of 2004-2005 State Flex Grant Plans
This project will analyze state Flex grant applications and related budget and work plan revisions focusing on state activities in the core Flex program areas of networks, quality improvement, and EMS.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Emergency medical services (EMS),
Networking and collaboration,
Quality
Chronic Illness and the Rural Informal Safety Net: The Case of Diabetes
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Chronic diseases and conditions,
Health insurance and the uninsured
Community Impact Assessment
This project will evaluate the impact of the Flex program on local communities. Activities will focus on identifying the ways in which the program could have a measurable effect, as well as the ways in which Flex program coordinators intended to affect community health. A briefing paper that integrates information on scope of services, networking, and quality will be produced. Additionally, case studies will be conducted in six CAH communities.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Networking and collaboration
Database for Rural Health Research in Progress
This searchable database of current rural health services research and policy analysis includes all ORHP-funded studies as well as research funded by other federal agencies, major private foundations and other sources.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Health policy
Development of State Flex Program Logic Models and Related Toolkit
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Effects of Scope of Service and Reimbursement on Access to Mental Health Services in Rural Areas
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health services,
Health services,
Mental health
Health Insurance Coverage and Access to Health Services for the Rural Near Elderly
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Aging,
Health insurance and the uninsured,
Health services
Health Insurance Dynamics of Uninsured Rural Families
To better understand the dynamics of insurance coverage among rural and urban families, this study will use the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to compare family health insurance coverage among non-elderly rural and urban families.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Health insurance and the uninsured
Locally Managed Behavioral Health Organizations: How Do They Affect The Capacity of Medicaid Managed Behavioral Health Programs to Serve Rural Populations?
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Medicaid and S-CHIP,
Mental health,
Networking and collaboration
Measuring Rural Underinisurance
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Health insurance and the uninsured
Mental Health Encounters in Critical Access Hospital Emergency Rooms: A National Survey
This project will survey Emergency Room (ER) managers in a nationally representative sample of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) to determine the proportion of ER encounters involving mental health pathology, types of mental health problems most commonly seen in these encounters, and resources available to CAHs to address the problems encountered.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Emergency medical services (EMS),
Mental health
National Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Tracking Project: Tracking State Policy and Program Development
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
National Study of Rural Health Clinics
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health services,
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
National Study of Substance Abuse Prevalence and Treatment Services in Rural Areas
This project will research the prevalence of the abuse of legal and illegal substances across rural populations and geographic areas, including the extent to which rural individuals are receiving treatment for their substance abuse and barriers to the receipt of treatment.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health disparities,
Health services,
Rural statistics and demographics,
Substance abuse
Patterns of Individual Health Plan Coverage Among Rural Residents
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health insurance and the uninsured,
Rural statistics and demographics
Role of Advanced Practice Registered Nurses in Addressing Mental Health Workforce Shortages
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Mental health,
Nurses,
Workforce
Role of Community Mental Health Centers as Rural Safety Net Providers
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs),
Mental health
Role of Inpatient Psychiatric Units in Small Rural Hospitals and Rural Mental Health Systems
This is a descriptive, exploratory study which will investigate the role of the small rural hospital IPU from the perspectives of both the rural hospital, in terms of scope of services and revenue enhancement, and the regional mental health system, meeting the needs of outpatient mental health and primary care providers, law enforcement, and human services.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health services,
Hospitals and clinics,
Mental health
Special Study of EMS Issues
This study will focus on state, community, and hospital level initiatives designed to build the infrastructure to support EMS service capacity and encourage the integration of these services into the rural healthcare infrastructure in the areas of quality improvement, financing, staffing, medical control, and networking and integration.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Emergency medical services (EMS),
Networking and collaboration
State Flex Program Quality Improvement Activities
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program,
Quality
Urban and Rural Differences in Utilization Patterns, Risk Factors and Expenditures of the Dually Eligible Elderly and Non-Elderly Persons with Disabilities
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Aging,
Disabilities,
Medicaid and S-CHIP,
Medicare
Using Program Logic Models to Monitor the Performance of State Flex Programs
This project will use a program logic model approach to track state program activities and develop tools that allow states to systematically monitor and manage their accomplishments in the context of Flex Program goals.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
