Rural Health Research Recaps

The Rural Health Research Centers are committed to providing timely, quality national research on the most pressing rural health issues, often exploring the same topics from various perspectives. Gateway has developed Rural Health Research Recaps to identify the key findings from all of the research centers on specific rural health topics.

• Rural Obstetric Services: Access, Workforce, and Impact
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 04/2019
  This resource presents current hospital-based obstetric closure rates and characteristics of rural communities without and losing obstetric services, as well as the impact of limited access on maternal and child health.
• State of Rural Women’s Healthcare Utilization and Health Indicators
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 04/2019
  Rural women face barriers to accessing preventive health screenings, mental health services, and maternal healthcare. This Recap provides a summary of the research on rural women’s utilization of healthcare services, maternal substance use, and other health indicators.
• Quality of Care in Rural Hospitals
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 01/2019
  This Rural Health Research Recap looks at hospital quality-of-care measures and the difficulties of developing quality measures, especially for rural hospitals with low patient volumes.

• Rural Communities: Age, Income, and Health Status
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2018
  While studies discuss the implications of income or age on health-seeking behavior, health status, access, or utilization of care, it is imperative to recognize what this means for older and lower-income rural communities. This Recap identifies rural disparities in age, health status, and income.
• Opioid Use and Treatment Availability
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 01/2018
  This resource examines opioid use in rural communities, as well as the perceived need for and utilization of treatment for opioid use disorder, based on a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers’ most recent research.

• Effects of Rural Hospital Closures
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 12/2017
  From January 2005 through early November 2017, 124 rural hospitals closed in the U.S. This Recap, two of two, provides a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers’ most recent research on the effects of these closures.
• Rural Hospital Closures
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 12/2017
  From January 2005 through early November 2017, 124 rural hospitals closed in the U.S. This Recap, one of two, provides a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers’ most recent research on hospital closures.
• Rural Behavioral Health
  Rural Health Research Gateway
  Date: 11/2017
  Rural behavioral health issues are compounded by a lack of access to care, workforce shortages, reimbursement issues, and high rates of un-insured or under-insurance. This resource provides a summary of the Rural Health Research Centers’ most recent research on behavioral health.