Rural and Minority Health Research Center

Current Projects

  • Availability of Diabetes Self-Management Education in High Need Rural Counties
    This project will examine the degree to which counties with a high need for diabetes education, defined by high diabetes prevalence, have such education available. Findings will be linked to a related study that will examine the availability of dialysis for end stage renal disease, a severe outcome of poorly addressed diabetes.
    Topics: Diabetes, Health services
  • Challenges, Successes, and Sustainability of the 2019 Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS) Programs
    This mixed-methods study aims to understand awardees' experiences in building and maintaining cohesive networks for Rural Maternity and Obstetrics Management Strategies (RMOMS).
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Maternal health, Minority health, Networking and collaboration, Telehealth, Women
  • Changes in Medicare Fee-for-Services Health Care Expenditures in Rural and Urban Communities after Passage of the Affordable Care Act
    This project will assess changes in Medicare per-beneficiary spending across rural and urban counties from 2007 to 2020. It will examine differences in rural versus urban per-beneficiary spending on hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, physician, and post-acute care after the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Public health
  • Disparities in Mental Health Services Access: the Intersectionality of Residence Rurality, Race, and Ethnicity
    In 2021, approximately 8.6 million rural adults faced mental health challenges while millions of rural adolescents battled major depressive episodes. This study examines disparities in mental health services uptake and variation in mental health care settings across racial-ethnic and rural-urban subpopulations before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health services, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health
  • Identifying High-Need Counties for Resource Planning
    The primary aim of this project is to use data examining health care infrastructure, chronic disease prevalence, and the socioeconomic environment to create a metric for classifying rural counties based on needs and resources.
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Maternal health, Obesity, Oral health, Physicians, Poverty, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health, Uninsured and underinsured, Workforce
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Addressable Drivers of Staff Turnover in Skilled Nursing Facilities
    The aim of the proposed study is to assess facility-level turnover rates for total nursing and registered nursing personnel across levels of rurality and by region looking at factors such as staffing ratios that can be managed by facility administrators.
    Topics: Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Public health, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Workforce
  • Rural-Urban Disparities in Mental Health Access and Quality in the United States
    The purpose of this project is to document the recent trends of mental health care access and quality in urban and rural communities and to assess the intersectionality of residence rurality and race/ethnicity on disparities in mental health care access and quality.
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health