Rural Health Research Gateway

Public health

Publications

Alphabetical list. You can also view by publication date.

  • Effect of Market Reform on Rural Public Health Departments
    Author(s): Rebecca Slifkin, Pam Silberman, Susan Reif
    Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
    Topic: Public health
    Date: 01 / 2000
    This study seeks to determine how rural health departments and populations they serve have been affected by recent health system changes, especially Medicaid managed care.
  • Financing Rural Public Health Activities in Prevention and Health Promotion (Final Report)
    Author(s): Michael Meit, Lorraine Ettaro, Benjamin Hamlin, Bhumika Piya
    Research center: Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health care financing, Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health
    Date: 06 / 2008
    Final Report of a study to determine whether the flow of federal resources, from federal agencies, through states, and to communities, is influenced by state and local level public health infrastructure.
  • Local Health Districts and the Public Health Workforce: A Case Study of Wyoming and Idaho
    Author(s): Richardson M, Casey S, Rosenblatt RA
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Public health, Workforce
    Citation: Journal of Public Health Management Practice, 7(1):37-48
    Date: 2001
    This study of personnel in local health departments (LHDs) focused on two predominantly rural states: Idaho and Wyoming. Although in the same region of the country, the structure of local public health is different in each state. Idaho's regionalized LHDs are relatively autonomous, whereas Wyoming's are county based, with many public health functions retained at the state level. The majority of professionals are nurses followed by environmental health workers and sanitarians, similar to data reported nationally. With increased emphasis on core public health functions of policy, assurance, and assessment, rural LHDs will be challenged to redirect the functions of their workforce.
  • Local Public Health at the Crossroads: The Structure of Health Departments in Rural Areas (Issue Brief)
    Author(s): Anthony Wellever
    Research center: ORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topic: Public health
    Date: 03 / 2006
    Overview of findings from a study of the structure of rural local public health departments. Includes policy recommendations.
  • Local Public Health at the Crossroads: The Structure of Health Departments in Rural Areas (Report)
    Author(s): Anthony Wellever
    Research center: ORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topic: Public health
    Date: 03 / 2006
    Reports the results of a study of the structure of local health departments in rural areas. Includes case studies describing the structure of local health departments in rural areas in six geographically disparate states: Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
  • PTSD and Substance Use: Unrecognized Sequelae of Bioterrorism in Primary Care Providers
    Author(s): Jennie C. I. Tsao, Aram Dobalian, Brenda A. Wiens, Julius A. Gylys, Art Clawson, Robert Brooks
    Research center: ORHP-funded Individual Grantees
    Topics: Emergency preparedness, Mental health, Public health, Substance abuse
    Citation: Southern Medical Journal, 99(8), 817-822
    Date: 2006
    Reports the results of a study that looked at rural primary care providers' knowledge of likely mental disorders, their risk factors, and preferred treatment options following a public health emergency.
  • Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 1
    Author(s): Larry D. Gamm, Linnae L. Hutchison, Betty J. Dabney, Alicia M. Dorsey, eds.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Healthy People 2010 (Rural), Public health
    Date: 2003
    Brief overviews of the top rural health concerns and objectives associated with Healthy People 2010 focus areas, including, Access to Quality Health Services (Insurance, Primary Care, and EMS); Cancer; Diabetes; Heart Disease and Stroke; Maternal, Infant, and Child Health; Mental Health and Mental Disorders; Nutrition and Overweight Concerns; Oral Health; Substance Abuse; and Tobacco Use. Also included are references to key literature about these concerns, and descriptions of models for practice that rural communities can draw upon to achieve key Healthy People 2010 objectives.
  • Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 2
    Author(s): Larry D. Gamm, Linnae L. Hutchison, Betty J. Dabney, Alicia M. Dorsey, eds.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Healthy People 2010 (Rural), Public health
    Date: 2003
    Detailed literature reviews and associated references for the top rural health concerns addressed in Vol. 1 of Rural Healthy People 2010.
  • Rural Healthy People 2010: A Companion Document to Healthy People 2010. Volume 3
    Author(s): Larry D. Gamm, Linnae L. Hutchison, eds.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthy People 2010 (Rural), Long term care, Physical abuse and domestic violence, Public health
    Report Number: Updated February 2005
    Date: 04 / 2004
    Includes the overview of research and accompanying models for practice on 5 new focus areas in Rural Healthy People 2010, along with the more detailed literature reviews for each. The focus areas are: Access to Quality Health Services in Rural Areas/Access to Long-term Care; Educational and Community-based Programs in Rural Areas; Immunizations and Infectious Diseases in Rural Areas; Injury and Violence Prevention in Rural Areas; and Rural Public Health Infrastructure.
  • Rural Public Health Financing: The Relationship Between Infrastructure and Local Program Funding (Policy Brief)
    Author(s): Michael Meit, Lorraine Ettaro, Benjamin Hamlin, Bhumika Piya
    Research center: Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health care financing, Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health
    Report Number: W Series No. 14
    Date: 06 / 2008
    The purpose of this study was to describe how federal funds for selected chronic disease prevention and health promotion activities are distributed to local health departments and non-governmental organizations at the local level and to identify infrastructure-related barriers that rural agencies may face in securing and using funds for such purposes. A central hypothesis was that the availability of federal funding for chronic disease prevention and health promotion activities may vary based on state and local public health infrastructural differences.
  • Rural Public Health Infrastructure: Case Studies to Assess the Impact of Structure on Service Delivery
    Author(s): Leigh Ann White, Lauren Silver
    Research center: Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
    Topic: Public health
    Date: 01 / 2006
    The purpose of this study is to contribute to a more thorough understanding of how public health governance affects how states structure and organize the delivery of public health services, and how this, in turn, influences the strategies adopted for meeting community public health needs in rural areas. Using a case study approach, the study examined three themes: 1) lines of reporting and accountability among public health entities, 2) provision of public health services, and 3) public health funding for localities. This work suggests that it would be of value to develop a comprehensive profile of state' public health systems, which would include specific aspects of each state's public health infrastructure, as well as community population and health statistics. Report available on request.
  • Rural-Urban Differences in the Public Health Workforce: Findings From Local Health Departments in three Rural Western States
    Author(s): Rosenblatt RA, Casey S, Richardson M
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Public health, Workforce
    Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 92(7):1102-1105
    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 health care 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.

This web site includes content provided by and adapted from the Maine Rural Health Research Center, University of Southern Maine under a Cooperative Agreement with the University of North Dakota.