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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Alva Ferdinand, DrPH, JD

Director, Southwest Rural Health Research Center

Phone: 979.436.9434
Fax: 979.436.9598
Email: aferdinand@tamu.edu

Texas A&M University
212 Adriance Lab Rd.
1266 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-1266

Current Projects - (10)

  • "Older, Sicker, Poorer": A Scoping Review of the Literature That Contributes to This Narrative on Rural Americans
    The investigators will conduct a scoping review of peer-reviewed literature to explore the contributive evidence that rural Americans are older, sicker, and poorer. The project will provide historical and context-setting perspectives on the factors that have led to this description and the extent to which it still holds true. The project will also identify literature gaps to inform future research.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Poverty, Rural statistics and demographics
  • Assessing the Clinical and Financial Impact of Community Health Workers in Rural America
    This scoping review project will assess how often the existing literature has examined community health workers (CHW) in rural America and what the literature suggests about the clinical and financial impact that CHWs have in rural communities.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Allied health professionals, Health promotion and disease prevention, Social determinants of health
  • Evaluating the Impact and Progress of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program
    HRSA established the Rural Public Health Workforce Training Network Program to expand health service capacity by supporting public health job development, training, and placement in rural and tribal communities. This project will examine how the program's 32 grantees implemented their activities and will assess the impact of their program activities.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Allied health professionals, Workforce
  • Federal Agencies' Recent Collaboration and Innovation in Rural Cancer Control: A Model for Practice
    The investigators will conduct an examination of the multi-year effort by the National Cancer Institute to focus on rural cancer issues and its collaboration with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The project will explore the key pieces of evidence that served as the impetus for the emphasis on rural America in cancer control efforts.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Cancer
  • Identifying and Exploring the Settings That Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants Are Practicing in as Well as Trends in Specialization in These Groups
    Investigators will conduct a descriptive study to assess trends in specialty and population foci of nurse practitioners (NP) and physician assistants (PA). They will also explore changes in the number of clinician types billing for procedures. Trends will be assessed by census region to inform FORHP on areas for which use of NPs and PAs can be bolstered.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Nurses and nurse practitioners, Physician assistants
  • The Rural Elderly Population: Demographics, Economic Status, Health Status, and Insurance Enrollment
    The project investigators will conduct a descriptive study to describe the demographics, economic status, health status, and insurance enrollment of the rural elderly population using data from nationally representative sources.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Private health insurance, Rural statistics and demographics
  • The Unintended Consequences of Recent Court Rulings on Rural Hospitals
    This study, using surveys and interviews of hospital executives, will examine how they are managing Disproportionate Share Hospital-related losses, where they are employing budget cuts, and how it is impacting their ability to provide services.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation
  • Trends and Factors That Contribute to Positive Outcomes in Rural Communities
    This project will explore the literature on rural health to identify outcomes that are better among rural residents than they are among urban residents.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  • Updating and Exploring the Burden of Potentially Avoidable Emergency Department Visits in Rural U.S. Communities
    This project will update the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's research portfolio on potentially avoidable emergency department (ED) visits among rural residents across the U.S., particularly as they relate to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Data on ACSC-related ED visits will be drawn from the State Emergency Department Databases, and findings will be stratified by census region and patient's place along the urban-rural continuum.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Healthcare access, Medicaid and CHIP, Uninsured and underinsured
  • Utilization of Hospital-Based Services for Behavioral Health Conditions
    This project will update the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's portfolio on rural residents' reliance on hospital-based care for behavioral health conditions. Data will be drawn from the State Emergency Department Databases and the National Inpatient Sample and findings will be presented in the context of patient residence along the urban-rural continuum, census region, and insurance coverage.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health

Completed Projects - (7)

Publications - (7)

2023

  • Rural Healthy People 2030: New Decade, New Challenges
    Journal Article
    Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 03/2023
    This study reports the findings of Rural Healthy People 2030, a companion piece to the Healthy People 2030 initiative with a focus on health priorities of rural populations. Data was collected from a survey given to rural stakeholders. Mental health, substance use, health care access, and economic stability were among the most important priorities.

2022

  • Meeting the Behavioral Health Needs of Farm Families in Times of Economic Distress
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 02/2022
    Economic fluctuations and periods of distress in farming cannot be eliminated, however, their impact on communities and individuals can be mitigated. Strategies for meeting the behavioral health needs of farm families by supporting community-based services, and expanding behavioral health services in rural contexts are highlighted in this work.
  • High-Performing Rural Health System
    Policy Brief
    RUPRI Health Panel: Rural Policy Analysis and Applications
    Date: 01/2022
    This document updates the RUPRI Health Panel's framework, for a high-performing rural health system, originally published in 2011. It offers a revised vision statement and updates the high-performing rural health system pillars (access, affordability, community health, and quality) and describes an underlying base of equity considerations.

2019