Rural Health
Research Gateway

Emily Sheffield, MPH

Phone: 612.626.8401
Email: sheff074@umn.edu

Division of Health Policy and Management
University of Minnesota
2221 University Ave. SE #350
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Current Projects - (5)

  • Higher-Level Maternity Care Access in Rural Communities
    This project will build on University of Minnesota's dataset on obstetric care access, which now includes an indicator of higher-level neonatal care at U.S. hospitals. We will assess the feasibility and reliability of creating an indicator for higher-level maternal care, based on a previously published algorithm identifying maternal levels of care.
    Research center: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health
  • Higher-Level Neonatal and Obstetric/Well-Infant Care Access in Rural Communities
    This project's goal is to describe access to childbirth-related care for families living in rural and urban communities, including attention to rural communities without access to either neonatal or obstetric services, and those communities with obstetric and well-infant care, but without higher-level neonatal care.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Women
  • Monitoring Obstetric Unit Closures and Maintaining County-level Data on Hospital-based Obstetric Care 2010-2025
    This project will build on the University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center's 2010-2024 dataset on obstetric care access. We will create updated county-level public health data infrastructure with information on hospital-based obstetric care in rural and urban counties, and on the loss of hospital-based obstetric services through 2025.
    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
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Severe Maternal Morbidity and Mortality
    Much has changed since we last studied rural-urban differences in severe maternal morbidity and mortality, including a substantial decline in access to hospital-based maternity care that disproportionately affects rural residents. The purpose of this project is to provide an updated national look at these trends and to analyze potential strategies for addressing rural-specific challenges in maternal health.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Maternal health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health

Completed Projects - (2)

  • Monitoring Obstetric Unit Closures and Maintaining County-level Data on Hospital-based Obstetric Care 2010-2024
    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
  • Rapid Response Obstetric Care Data Access
    The purpose of this project was to produce rapid response descriptive analyses at the request of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy regarding obstetric services at rural hospitals and maternity care in rural communities.
    Research center: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program
    Topics: Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health

Publications - (23)

2026

2025

  • Availability of Higher-Level Neonatal Care Services in Rural U.S. Counties, 2010-2022
    Policy Brief
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 12/2025
    The purpose of this policy brief is to show the changes in the availability of higher-level neonatal care in rural U.S. counties from 2010 to 2022, and how this availability differs by rural county type (micropolitan vs. noncore).
  • Local Availability of Neonatal Intensive Care at Rural Hospitals With Childbirth Services
    Journal Article
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 11/2025
    In this paper, researchers used survey data to better understand county and hospital-level characteristics of rural U.S. hospitals based on distance to the nearest neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
  • 2010-2023 County-Level Hospital-Based Obstetric Care Status
    Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 10/2025
    This data resource is a county-level dataset containing the county FIPS code, state, and an indicator of whether each US county had hospital-based obstetrics care in each year, 2010-2023. It is available for download as an XLS file.
  • 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.
  • 2010-2022 County-Level Hospital-Based Obstetric Care Status
    Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2025
    This data resource is a county-level dataset containing the county FIPS code, state, and an indicator of whether each United States county had hospital-based obstetrics care in each year, 2010-2022. It is available for download as an XLS file.
  • Obstetric Care Access Declined in Rural and Urban Hospitals Across U.S. States, 2010–22
    Journal Article
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 07/2025
    This Data Watch piece describes obstetric unit status for every short-term acute care hospital (rural and urban) in all U.S. states.
  • Author Response: Policy Context Matters for Midwifery
    Journal Article
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2025
    This letter to the editor addresses commentary on improving access to rural midwifery care.
  • Resources for Measuring Rurality in Research on Maternity Care
    University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2025
    The primary objective of this brief is to explore the complexities inherent in defining rurality in maternal health research. In addition, this brief aims to provide insights into how different measures of rurality influence research outcomes, with the goal of informing best practices in maternal health research.

2024

2023