Rural and Underserved Health Research Center

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications from this Rural Health Research Center.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

  • Partial Psychiatric Hospitalization Program Availability in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Hospitals Nationally
    Policy Brief
    Date: 12/2019
    Partial psychiatric hospitalization programs (PPHPs) are intended to reduce or avoid inpatient stays by providing intensive psychiatric services in outpatient settings. We provide national estimates of PPHP availability among nonmetropolitan and metropolitan hospitals and describe the hospital characteristics associated with the provision of PPHPs.
  • The Prevalence of Chronic Diseases Among Current and Ex-Miners in the United States
    Journal Article
    Date: 12/2019
    This paper compares the prevalence and odds of chronic diseases among ex-miners and current miners, adjusting for certain variables that might influence health outcomes. The analysis found that the prevalence of chronic disease is significantly higher among ex-miners.
  • Hospital Closures and Short-Run Change in Ambulance Call Times
    Journal Article
    Date: 11/2019
    Hospital closures affect the availability of emergency department services. This paper examines changes in ambulance ride times in areas with hospital closures compared to those in similar areas without hospital closures and separately analyzes changes in ambulance ride times between urban and rural areas and among Medicare-eligible patients.
  • Declining Endoscopic Care by Family Physicians in Both Rural and Urban Areas
    Journal Article
    Date: 07/2019
    This paper explores the decline in the percentage of family physicians providing endoscopic services overall and in urban and rural areas. This has implications on the availability of colonoscopies, endoscopies, and flexible sigmoidoscopies in areas that lack specialists who perform such services.
  • Suicidal Thoughts, Plans, and Attempts by Non-Metropolitan and Metropolitan Residence
    Policy Brief
    Date: 05/2019
    Suicide is among the leading causes of death in the US, and rates in non-metropolitan (rural) counties have historically exceeded those in metropolitan (urban) counties. This study examined the prevalence of suicidal thoughts, plans, and attempts by year (2010-2016) and county type (non-metropolitan, small metropolitan, and large metropolitan).
  • Do Hospital Closures Affect Patient Time in an Ambulance?
    Policy Brief
    Date: 02/2019
    Our study explores how a local hospital closure changes patient time in an ambulance for 9-1-1 calls. Access to emergency department services in communities, especially rural communities, persists as a priority for the Medicare program. We found when hospitals close, rural patients requiring ambulance services are disproportionately affected.

2018

2017

  • Ambulance Services for Medicare Beneficiaries: State Differences in Usage, 2012-2014
    Policy Brief
    Date: 10/2017
    Ambulance services are at risk of scaling back or dissolving in some places. We analyzed Medicare beneficiaries' use of ambulance services across the U.S. Improved understanding of how beneficiaries, most of whom are elderly, use these services provides vital information for policymakers who set rules and regulations about access to the services.