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 - (3)
Publications - (9)

Current Projects - (3)

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
Rapid Response Obstetric Care Data Access
The purpose of this project is 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 centers: Rural Maternal Health Data Support and Analysis Program, University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Topics: 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 - (9)

2025

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.
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

Midwifery Care at Rural Hospitals in Montana and California
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 12/2024
These case studies describe how two hospitals that serve rural U.S. communities incorporate midwifery care into their services.
Information for Rural Stakeholders About Access to Maternity and Obstetric Care: A Community-Relevant Synthesis of Research
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 09/2024
This document aims to inform rural stakeholders about challenges related to access to and quality of hospital-based childbirth care in rural U.S. communities.
Loss of Hospital-Based Obstetric Services in Rural Counties in the United States, 2010-2022
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2024
The purpose of this infographic is to show the loss of hospital-based obstetric services in rural counties from 2010 to 2022, and how this differs by rural county type (micropolitan vs. noncore).
Rural-Urban Differences in Midwifery Care During Childbirth in the U.S.
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 07/2024
This infographic provides a snapshot of rural-urban differences in midwife-attended births, including changes over time as access to rural obstetric care declined and severe maternal morbidity and mortality rose across the United States.

2023

Rural/Urban Differences in Rates and Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence and Abuse Screening Among Pregnant and Postpartum United States Residents
Journal Article
University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Date: 08/2023
This paper uses the 2016-2020 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) data to describe rates and predictors of perinatal intimate partner violence (IPV) and rates and predictors of not being screened for abuse among rural and urban IPV victims who gave birth.