Carrie Henning-Smith, PhD, MPH, MSW

• Current Projects - (5)
• Completed Projects - (14)
• Publications - (32)

Current Projects - (5)

• Addressing Elder Abuse in Rural Areas
  Elder abuse, including financial, physical, and emotional abuse, as well as self-neglect, is widespread and impacts individual and population health outcomes. However, despite the fact that rural residents are older, in poorer health, and more financially vulnerable, little is known about rural/urban differences in the prevalence of and resources to address elder abuse; this project will address those gaps.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Social determinants of health, Violence and abuse
  
• 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.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Healthcare access, Home health, Social determinants of health
  
• Geographic and Socio-Demographic Correlates of Medical Debt Among Rural Residents
  Medical debt is widespread and impacts financial well-being and access to care. While research suggests that medical debt is higher among rural residents compared to urban residents, more work is needed to conclusively demonstrate rural/urban differences in medical debt and within-rural risk factors for greater medical debt by geography and socio-demographic characteristics.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Healthcare access, Poverty, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  
• Improving Health for "Homebound" Older Adults in Rural and Urban Areas
  This project will describe rural-urban differences in the risk of, and characteristics associated with, being classified as "homebound." We will also identify policy and programmatic interventions to reduce the risk of becoming homebound as well as to improve outcomes for those who are homebound.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Home health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  
• 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.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Healthcare access, Quality, Social determinants of health
  

Completed Projects - (14)

• Access to Care for Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
  This project examined multiple dimensions of access to care, with a focus on rural Medicare beneficiaries, including rural-urban differences in access to care, and within-rural differences in access to care by region, coverage type (traditional fee-for-service vs. supplemental Medigap coverage), and socio-demographic characteristics.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Healthcare access, Medicare, Medicare Advantage (MA)
  
• Addressing Rural Social Isolation as a Health and Mortality Risk Factor
  This project aimed to describe rural/urban differences in the prevalence of social isolation, as well as to identify challenges and strategies related to addressing rural social isolation in order to inform policy-making.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Health promotion and disease prevention
  
• Aging in Place in Rural America: What Does It Look Like and How Can It Be Supported?
  In general, people want to age in place. This project looked at the structures in place to help them do so and how those structures vary by rurality. Federal, state, and local policy implications for improving health outcomes and quality of life for rural older adults aging in place were also be identified.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Disabilities, Healthcare access, Home health, Long-term care, Social determinants of health
  
• Caring for Caregivers: Available Support for Unpaid Caregivers in Rural Areas
  This project describes rural-urban differences in the prevalence and intensity of informal caregiving for older adults and associated socio-demographic correlates and as well as identifies potential policy interventions to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of rural caregivers.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Home health, Long-term care
  
• Community Context and Rural Strategies to Support the Oldest Old
  This project developed a chartbook profiling older adults (65 and older) in rural areas and assessed where rural residents ages 85 and older were most likely to live, what rural counties had experienced the fastest growth of those 85 and older, and what strategies were in place or were possible for supporting this population in aging in place.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Hospice and palliative care, Long-term care, Rural statistics and demographics
  
• Evaluating the Rural Health Network Development Planning Grant Program
  This project identified factors that facilitate and impede success of Rural Health Network Development grantees, based on discussions with grantees from the 2019 cohort and surveys of prior grantees dating back more than 10 years, as well as with technical assistance providers.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health services, Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Networking and collaboration, Public health, Quality
  
• Evaluating the Rural HIV/AIDS Planning Grant Program
  The Rural HIV/AIDS Planning Grant program is administered by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy to plan and develop healthcare networks designed to address HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment in states disproportionately impacted by the virus. This project identified factors that facilitate and impede success of such planning efforts.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Healthcare access, Networking and collaboration
  
• Housing as a Social Determinant of Rural Health
  The purpose of this project was to identify rural/urban and within-rural differences in housing quality and its relationship to health and disability status, especially for individuals living in poverty. We also identified rural-specific housing issues and innovative policy solutions to address housing challenges in order to improve rural health.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Disabilities, Environmental and agricultural health, Poverty, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  
• Living Alone: Rural-Urban Differences in Prevalence, Socio-Demographic Correlates, and Health Needs Across the Lifespan
  This project's purpose was to document rural-urban differences in the prevalence of living alone across different age groups, describe rural-urban differences in the socio-demographic correlates and health needs of individuals living alone, and identify rural-relevant policies and programs to support rural residents living alone across the lifespan.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topic: Social determinants of health
  
• Paving the Way: Addressing Transportation as a Social Determinant of Health for Rural Residents
  This project will use a mixed-methods design to examine ways in which transportation operates as a social determinant of health for vulnerable rural residents, and to identify exemplar transportation programs that are successfully improving health and well-being of those residents.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Health services, Networking and collaboration, Transportation
  
• Ransomware Attacks on Rural Hospitals
  The rise in hospital ransomware attacks threatens to harm patients, especially in rural areas. This project used a novel dataset to analyze rural/urban differences in how ransomware attacks affect patients and hospitals.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Health information technology, Hospitals and clinics
  
• Rural-Urban Differences in Domestic Violence as a Contributor to Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
  Using 2016-2020 data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this project assessed the prevalence of domestic violence among rural and urban residents who give birth. We also analyzed how screening and support services could be improved to support rural families that experience domestic violence, including during pregnancy and the postpartum period.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Maternal health, Social determinants of health, Violence and abuse, Women
  
• Skilled Nursing Facility Care for Rural Residents with Complex Care Needs
  This project will examine barriers to skilled nursing facility placement for rural residents with complex care needs, including obesity, dementia, and behavioral health problems, and explore potential implications for access to and quality of care.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Long-term care
  
• The Direct Care Workforce in Rural Areas
  In this study, we measured the supply of long-term care services and supports (LTSS) direct care workers relative to older adult populations in rural and urban areas and measure employer and industry turnover among LTSS direct care workers. We also explored how compensation levels – including wages and employer-based health insurance – are related to and predict worker turnover in the LTSS direct care workforce in rural and urban areas.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Aging, Allied health professionals, Health services, Home health, Long-term care, Post-acute care, Poverty, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health, Workforce
  

Publications - (32)