Maine Rural Health Research Center
Current Projects
Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas
This project will produce a comprehensive description of the distribution and characteristics of detoxification (detox) services across rural areas including a discussion of access issues, the role of detox services within local systems of care, barriers to the delivery of detox services by rural providers, and policy and regulatory incentives needed to encourage the development of rural detox services. Products will include a working paper and related journal articles addressing these topics.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Substance abuse
Expanding Rural Health Insurance Coverage: How Do Insurance Reform Strategies Stack Up?
This purpose of this study is to inform policymakers about the current state of health insurance coverage in rural America, and to assess how specific reform strategies may differentially affect rural residents. Using a combination of analytic strategies, we will provide policymakers and rural health advocates with the necessary tools to develop reform strategies that meet the needs of rural residents.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health insurance and the uninsured,
Health policy
Financial Impact of Mental Health Services on Rural Individuals and Families
This project will use the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) to examine the financial burden that rural residents face in seeking mental health services, compared to urban residents. Implications of financial burden for access to needed mental health services for rural residents will be assessed.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health care financing,
Health insurance and the uninsured,
Mental health
Impact of Employment Transitions on Health Insurance Coverage of Rural Residents
This project will use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), an ongoing nationally representative survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, to determine the relationship between employment changes and health insurance status among rural residents and the extent to which this differs from urban residents.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Health insurance and the uninsured
Impact of Mental and Emotional Stress on Rural Employment Patterns
This study will use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to investigate how mental health symptoms affect employment patterns, and the extent to which these effects differ by rural and urban residence.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Mental health
Measuring the Community Benefits and Impact of Critical Access Hospitals
This project will develop, test, and implement a set of community benefits and impact indicators for Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs). These indicators will assist CAHs, policymakers, and rural stakeholders to understand the impact of CAHs on their communities and local health care delivery systems.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Provision of Specialty Mental Health Services by Rural Health Clinics
This project will document the extent to which Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) are employing mental health staff nationally, understand why more RHCs are not employing specialty mental health staff, and analyze the barriers to and opportunities for the delivery of mental health services by RHCs. The results will identify opportunities and interventions to encourage RHCs to offer this important service.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Health services,
Mental health,
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs),
Substance abuse
Rural Hospital Flexibility Performance Monitoring Project
Under contract with the federal Office of Rural Health Policy, the Rural Health Research Centers at the Universities of Minnesota, North Carolina, and Southern Maine are cooperatively conducting a performance monitoring project for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program). The monitoring project will assess the impact of the Flex Program on rural hospitals and communities and the role of states in achieving overall program objectives, including improving access to and the quality of health care services; improving the financial performance of Critical Access Hospitals; and engaging rural communities in health care system development.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Children’s Mental Health Services
This study uses data from the Urban Institute’s National Survey of America’s Families to examine and compare the use of mental health services by rural and urban children, age 6 to 17, relative to their need for mental health care, family income, and insurance status.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Children,
Health services,
Mental health
The Role of Local Jails in the Rural Mental Health System
This project will investigate how rural jails manage the mental health and substance abuse problems of their inmates. Through analysis of the National Survey of Jails and semi-structured interviews with state-level and county-level/local officials, barriers to providing such services will be assessed and promising practices will be documented.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic:
Mental health
The Safety Net Role of Independent Rural Health Clinics
This national study will investigate and describe the safety net role of independent Rural Health Clinics (RHC). It will further examine the market effect of Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHC) on the safety net role of independent RHCs at the county level.
Funder:
Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topics:
Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs),
Rural Health Clinics (RHCs)
