Rural Health
Research Gateway

Caitlin Carroll, PhD

University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center

Phone: 612.626.0943
Email: carrollc@umn.edu

Division of Health Policy and Management
University of Minnesota
420 Delaware St SE
MMC 729 Mayo
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Current Projects - (3)

  • Financial Analysis of Rural Obstetric Care Hospitals
    The purpose of this project is to describe the financial stability and hospital longevity of rural and urban hospitals before and after obstetric unit closure. Additionally, we will identify financial factors that contribute to decisions around obstetric service provision in rural communities in order to better understand the factors that lead to—or could prevent—obstetric unit closures.
    Research centers: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health
  • Monitoring Obstetric Unit Closures and Maintaining County-level Data on Hospital-based Obstetric Care
    This project will add one year of data to our publicly-available dataset on obstetric care access. We will create an updated county-level data resource with information on hospital-based obstetric care in rural and urban counties, 2010-2024, and conduct analyses with these data.
    Research center: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health
  • Relationship Between Rural Hospital Bypass and Obstetric Unit Closures
    This project will assess how often and what type of rural pregnant patients bypass local birth hospitals for obstetric care, and identify bypass patterns that precede obstetric unit closures.
    Research center: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program
    Topics: Healthcare financing, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health

Publications - (3)

2025

  • An Enhanced Method for Identifying Hospital-Based Obstetric Unit Status, Version 2 with Addendum
    Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2025
    The purpose of this methodology brief is to describe an enhanced method for identifying hospital-based obstetric unit status and for identifying closures of obstetric units. Version two of the methodology was used to identify obstetric care access in the 2010-2023 data resource.

2024

2022