Rural Health
Research Gateway

University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center

Current Projects

  • Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) Among Rural Residents: The State of the Field and Promising Research Directions
    This project seeks to identify what is known about rural Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) prevalence, outcomes, and health care utilization, and what public data exist to inform research rural ADRD going forward.
    Topics: Aging, Care management, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Social determinants of health
  • Challenges to Implementing Recommended Cybersecurity Practices at Rural Hospitals
    This project seeks to identify and describe financial costs of adopting recommended cybersecurity practices at rural hospitals, differences in cybersecurity challenges faced by Critical Access Hospitals and other rurally-located hospitals, and workforce-related challenges such as recruitment and retention of qualified information technology and information security professionals.
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health information technology, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Workforce
  • Extent and Coverage of Rural PACE Services
    Supporting independent living and aging in place for rural residents is more important than ever. This project will provide information on the extent and coverage of rural Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) programs, along with insights into the unique challenges and opportunities faced by PACE programs operating in rural areas.
    Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Healthcare access, Home health, Social determinants of health
  • Health, Well-being, and Supportive Services for Caregivers by Rural-Urban Location
    Informal caregivers (sometimes called "unpaid" or "family" caregivers) make up the majority of all care provided in the U.S., yet their labor often goes unseen and undervalued. Such caregiving takes many forms, including caring for an older adult requiring long-term services and supports, caring for an adult with a long-term disability, or caring for children. This project will build on prior University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center research to further explore dimensions of rural and urban caregiver characteristics and access to services, and new and emerging models to support health of rural caregivers.
    Topics: Aging, Care management, Disabilities, Long-term care, Workforce
  • Higher-Level Neonatal and Obstetric/Well-Infant Care Access in Rural Communities
    This project's goal is to describe access to childbirth-related care for families living in rural and urban communities, including attention to rural communities without access to either neonatal or obstetric services, and those communities with obstetric and well-infant care, but without higher-level neonatal care.
    Topics: Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Women
  • Mental Health Outcomes and Access to Care Among Rural Older Adults
    This project seeks to identify: 1) rates of depression, anxiety, and other common mental health conditions among rural older adults, including differences in rates of mental health conditions by age, 2) use of and access to mental health care among rural older adults, and 3) promising models to reduce barriers to mental health care among rural older adults.
    Topics: Aging, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Social determinants of health, Substance use and treatment
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Access to and Quality of Care for People With Disabilities
    The purpose of this project is to identify rural-urban differences in access to and quality of health care services for people with disabilities. Results from this project will help inform policy to improve access to and quality of care for this growing population in rural areas.
    Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Healthcare access, Quality, Social determinants of health
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Health and Health Care Use Among Medicare Beneficiaries Under 65
    Information is urgently needed about the health and health care access characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries under 65, in order to best allocate resources to meet their needs. This project will examine characteristics and health care use among rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries under 65, and explore challenges and opportunities regarding rural residents younger than 65 applying for and accessing Medicare.
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Healthcare access, Medicare, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
    Much has changed since we last studied rural-urban differences in severe maternal morbidity and mortality, including a substantial decline in access to hospital-based maternity care that disproportionately affects rural residents. The purpose of this project is to provide an updated national look at these trends and to analyze potential strategies for addressing rural-specific challenges in maternal health.
    Topics: Healthcare access, Maternal health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  • Strengthening Interoperability for Rural Hospitals: The Role of TEFCA
    The digital divide between rural and urban hospitals (a gap in adoption and use of robust IT tools to support care delivery) has narrowed considerably in recent years. And yet, hospitals in rural communities are still struggling with access to and routine use of interoperable health information exchange (HIE) capabilities. The Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) is the federal policy solution to offering all health care organizations an on-ramp to interoperable HIE, particularly entities that lack other vendor-specific alternatives. This project seeks to describe rates of TEFCA participation among Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) and other rurally-located hospitals, and characterize whether and how reported barriers to interoperability vary based on TEFCA participation.
    Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health information technology, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Telehealth, Workforce