Melanie Race

Phone: 207.228.8247
E-mail: mrace@usm.maine.edu

University of Southern Maine
PO Box 9300
Portland, ME

Completed Projects (1)

Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP)
Topic: Substance abuse
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.

Publications (10)

Access to Mental Health Services and Family Impact of Rural Children with Mental Health Problems
Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Erika C. Ziller, David Lambert, Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Children, Mental health
Report Number: #45
Date: 10 / 2010
Mental health problems have considerable impact on children and their families and some of these impacts are higher in rural than urban areas. Rural children are slightly but significantly more likely to have a mental health problem than urban children, are more likely to have a behavioral difficulty, and are more likely to be usually or always affected by their condition. Compared to urban children, rural children are more likely to go without access to all parent-reported needed mental health services and their families spend more time coordinating their care.
Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas
Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Melanie M. Race, John A. Gale
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Substance abuse
Report Number: 41
Date: 12 / 2009
Few detox providers (n=235) serve rural America; 82% of rural residents live in a county without a detox provider. More than half of all rural detox providers serve patients across a 100 mile radius, making travel distances a barrier to outpatient care. Referral options to substance abuse treatment are limited, especially in isolated rural areas. Analyses are based on a 2008 survey of rural detox facilities conducted by the Maine Rural Health Research Center.
Community Benefits of Critical Access Hospitals: A Review of the Data (Briefing Paper)
Author(s): Melanie Race, John Gale, Andrew Coburn
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Report Number: No.24
Date: 03 / 2010
There is a growing national interest in the benefits provided by nonprofit and public hospitals to their communities in exchange for the tax benefits or public funding that they receive.
Few and Far Away: Detoxification Services in Rural Areas (Research & Policy Brief)
Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Melanie M. Race, John A. Gale
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Substance abuse
Date: 12 / 2009
Based on Working Paper #41: Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas. Findings: Few rural detox providers exist; 82% of rural residents live in a county without a detox provider. More than half of all rural detox providers serve a 100 mile radius. Travel distances are a barrier to outpatient detox models. Referral options to substance abuse treatment are limited, especially in isolated rural areas.
Impact of Employment Transitions on Health Insurance Coverage of Rural Residents
Author(s): Nathaniel J. Anderson, Erika C. Ziller, Melanie M. Race, Andrew F. Coburn
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Health insurance and the uninsured
Report Number: #46
Date: 10 / 2010
Explores the impact of changes in employment status on insurance coverage for rural and urban workers.
Many Urban and Rural Workers Lose Health Insurance During Job Transitions (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Nathaniel J. Anderson, Erika C. Ziller, Melanie M. Race, Andrew F. Coburn
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Health insurance and the uninsured
Date: 10 / 2010
Explores the impact of changes in employment status on insurance coverage for rural and urban workers, and the factors behind any differences.
Mental Health Problems Have Considerable Impact on Rural Children and their Families (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Erika C. Ziller, David Lambert, Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Children, Mental health
Date: 10 / 2010
Mental health problems have considerable impact on children and their families and some of these impacts are higher in rural than urban areas. Rural children are slightly but significantly more likely to have a mental health problem than urban children, are more likely to have a behavioral difficulty, and are more likely to be usually or always affected by their condition. Compared to urban children, rural children are more likely to go without access to all parent-reported needed mental health services and their families spend more time coordinating their care. This policy brief provides information on prevalence of children's mental health needs and associated access to care and family impact across rural and urban areas. Analyses are based on the 2005-06 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs.
Mental Health Services in Rural Jails (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Melanie Race, Anush Yousefian, David Lambert, David Hartley
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Mental health
Date: 09 / 2009
The prevalence of mental illness among prison and jail inmates has attracted increasing attention in both mental health and criminal justice circles.
Mental Health Services in Rural Jails (Working Paper)
Author(s): Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian, David Lambert, David Hartley
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Mental health
Report Number: Working Paper #42
Date: 08 / 2010
Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the role of rural jails in the mental health systems in rural communities, investigating how rural jails manage mental health and substance abuse problems among inmates, determining barriers to providing mental health services faced by rural jails, and identifying promising practices for service delivery. Rural jail administrators and mental health providers understood the need for mental health services for jail inmates but were constrained by inadequate community mental health resources, lack of coordination with community mental health providers, and infrastructure challenges including facilities, transportation, training, and legal processes. Promising practices include short-term hold policies, separation of inmates with mental health concerns, and regular communication among stakeholders.
Monitoring the Community Benefits of Critical Access Hospitals: A Review of the Data (Policy Brief)
Author(s): Melanie Race, John Gale, Andrew Coburn
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topic: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program
Report Number: #13
Date: 03 / 2010
This brief examines the community benefit activities of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) using data from the Flex Monitoring Team's (FMT) pilot test of a set of community benefit data collection tools and performance indicators, the Internal Review Service's (IRS) 2006 Hospital Compliance Study, and the 2007 FMT CAH survey.

Topics Centers Researchers Other Resources Search		Melanie Race Maine Rural Health Research Center Phone: 207.228.8247 E-mail: mrace@usm.maine.edu University of Southern Maine PO Box 9300 Portland, ME Completed Projects (1) Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Funder: Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) Topic: Substance abuse 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. Publications (10) Access to Mental Health Services and Family Impact of Rural Children with Mental Health Problems Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Erika C. Ziller, David Lambert, Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topics: Children, Mental health Report Number: #45 Date: 10 / 2010 Mental health problems have considerable impact on children and their families and some of these impacts are higher in rural than urban areas. Rural children are slightly but significantly more likely to have a mental health problem than urban children, are more likely to have a behavioral difficulty, and are more likely to be usually or always affected by their condition. Compared to urban children, rural children are more likely to go without access to all parent-reported needed mental health services and their families spend more time coordinating their care. Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Melanie M. Race, John A. Gale Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Substance abuse Report Number: 41 Date: 12 / 2009 Few detox providers (n=235) serve rural America; 82% of rural residents live in a county without a detox provider. More than half of all rural detox providers serve patients across a 100 mile radius, making travel distances a barrier to outpatient care. Referral options to substance abuse treatment are limited, especially in isolated rural areas. Analyses are based on a 2008 survey of rural detox facilities conducted by the Maine Rural Health Research Center. Community Benefits of Critical Access Hospitals: A Review of the Data (Briefing Paper) Author(s): Melanie Race, John Gale, Andrew Coburn Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Report Number: No.24 Date: 03 / 2010 There is a growing national interest in the benefits provided by nonprofit and public hospitals to their communities in exchange for the tax benefits or public funding that they receive. Few and Far Away: Detoxification Services in Rural Areas (Research & Policy Brief) Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Melanie M. Race, John A. Gale Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Substance abuse Date: 12 / 2009 Based on Working Paper #41: Availability, Characteristics, and Role of Detoxification Services in Rural Areas. Findings: Few rural detox providers exist; 82% of rural residents live in a county without a detox provider. More than half of all rural detox providers serve a 100 mile radius. Travel distances are a barrier to outpatient detox models. Referral options to substance abuse treatment are limited, especially in isolated rural areas. Impact of Employment Transitions on Health Insurance Coverage of Rural Residents Author(s): Nathaniel J. Anderson, Erika C. Ziller, Melanie M. Race, Andrew F. Coburn Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Health insurance and the uninsured Report Number: #46 Date: 10 / 2010 Explores the impact of changes in employment status on insurance coverage for rural and urban workers. Many Urban and Rural Workers Lose Health Insurance During Job Transitions (Policy Brief) Author(s): Nathaniel J. Anderson, Erika C. Ziller, Melanie M. Race, Andrew F. Coburn Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Health insurance and the uninsured Date: 10 / 2010 Explores the impact of changes in employment status on insurance coverage for rural and urban workers, and the factors behind any differences. Mental Health Problems Have Considerable Impact on Rural Children and their Families (Policy Brief) Author(s): Jennifer D. Lenardson, Erika C. Ziller, David Lambert, Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topics: Children, Mental health Date: 10 / 2010 Mental health problems have considerable impact on children and their families and some of these impacts are higher in rural than urban areas. Rural children are slightly but significantly more likely to have a mental health problem than urban children, are more likely to have a behavioral difficulty, and are more likely to be usually or always affected by their condition. Compared to urban children, rural children are more likely to go without access to all parent-reported needed mental health services and their families spend more time coordinating their care. This policy brief provides information on prevalence of children's mental health needs and associated access to care and family impact across rural and urban areas. Analyses are based on the 2005-06 National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs. Mental Health Services in Rural Jails (Policy Brief) Author(s): Melanie Race, Anush Yousefian, David Lambert, David Hartley Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Mental health Date: 09 / 2009 The prevalence of mental illness among prison and jail inmates has attracted increasing attention in both mental health and criminal justice circles. Mental Health Services in Rural Jails (Working Paper) Author(s): Melanie M. Race, Anush Yousefian, David Lambert, David Hartley Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Mental health Report Number: Working Paper #42 Date: 08 / 2010 Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the role of rural jails in the mental health systems in rural communities, investigating how rural jails manage mental health and substance abuse problems among inmates, determining barriers to providing mental health services faced by rural jails, and identifying promising practices for service delivery. Rural jail administrators and mental health providers understood the need for mental health services for jail inmates but were constrained by inadequate community mental health resources, lack of coordination with community mental health providers, and infrastructure challenges including facilities, transportation, training, and legal processes. Promising practices include short-term hold policies, separation of inmates with mental health concerns, and regular communication among stakeholders. Monitoring the Community Benefits of Critical Access Hospitals: A Review of the Data (Policy Brief) Author(s): Melanie Race, John Gale, Andrew Coburn Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center Topic: Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Hospital Flexibility Program Report Number: #13 Date: 03 / 2010 This brief examines the community benefit activities of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) using data from the Flex Monitoring Team's (FMT) pilot test of a set of community benefit data collection tools and performance indicators, the Internal Review Service's (IRS) 2006 Hospital Compliance Study, and the 2007 FMT CAH survey.