Rural Health
Research Gateway

Michael Hendryx, PhD

Completed Projects - (7)

  • Agricultural Health: Current Knowledge and Future Directions
    The health of rural populations is impacted by many factors, of which agricultural activities are one of the most important. Agriculture potentially impacts health through a variety of means, including exposures to pesticides and fertilizers, dust from fields or harvesting, accidents and injuries, or contaminants from animal feed lots including antibiotics, hormones or animal waste. There are also issues facing special populations such as migrant workers, and potential agricultural risks facing children and families of workers.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Environmental and agricultural health
  • Agricultural Medicine Training for Rural America
    The purpose of the research is to identify the availability and characteristics of agricultural medicine training opportunities for health care professionals. Agricultural workers and their families face numerous threats to health and safety, and yet there is limited information on health care expertise in place to recognize and prevent threats, and to diagnosis and treat agriculturally-related injury and illness.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Environmental and agricultural health
  • Childhood Asthma and Air Quality in Rural-Urban Areas
    This study will examine the prevalence of childhood asthma across urban and rural settings. We will examine how asthma may be related to measures of ambient air quality, as well as how asthma may be related to agricultural activity of different types, to proximity to metropolitan areas, and to measures of demographics and health care insurance.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Environmental and agricultural health
  • Recent Rates of Black Lung Disease in Relation to Black Lung Treatment Centers
    Recent evidence indicates that black lung disease among coal miners, after a long period of declining incidence, has begun to increase. This increase is disturbing because safety standards, if adhered to faithfully, should be able to prevent most black lung disease from occurring. The reasons for the increase are not known, although evidence has revealed that the mines most likely to show increases are smaller coal mines located in some areas of central Appalachia, and there are concerns that safety regulations at these smaller mines may not be practiced with complete fidelity.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topic: Public health
  • Rural Environmental Hazards Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes
    This study will create a national inventory of potential environmental hazards for rural populations. Population health outcomes such as CDC mortality statistics will be examined to determine if poor health outcomes are related to greater exposures to potential hazards.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health, Transportation
  • Toxics Release Inventory Sites and Population Health across Rural and Urban Areas
    Previous research has identified higher mortality rates in rural areas in association with exposure to pollution sources. This study conducts mortality outcome analyses specific to discharges from Toxics Release Inventory sites across the spectrum of rural to urban settings.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Public health
  • Water Quality Issues in Rural-Urban Areas: The Good (Fluoridation), the Bad (Chemical Pollutants) and the Ugly (Health Consequences)
    This study will investigate the availability of fluoridated water across urban-rural settings, and relate measures of fluoride availability to survey measures of dental health. The study will also investigate rural population exposure to chemical pollutants in surface water by measuring volumes and types of discharges from EPA-recognized water pollution sources, including sources located in rural areas and in upstream urban areas, and relating these measures to population health outcomes.
    Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Public health

Publications - (14)

2013

2012

  • Childhood Asthma in Rural-Urban Areas
    Policy Brief
    West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 06/2012
    This policy brief examines how asthma may be related to rural areas adjacent or non-adjacent to larger population centers, to variation in measures of air quality, to varying levels of agricultural and animal production, and to other characteristics such as obesity, race/ethnicity, or health insurance.
  • Childhood Asthma in Rural-Urban Areas (Final Report)
    West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 05/2012
    This report examines how asthma may be related to rural areas adjacent or non-adjacent to larger population centers, to variation in measures of air quality, to varying levels of agricultural and animal production, and to other characteristics such as obesity, race/ethnicity, or health insurance.
  • Water Fluoridation and Dental Health Indicators in Rural and Urban Areas of the United States
    Policy Brief
    West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
    Date: 01/2012
    This policy brief investigates the availability of fluoridated water across urban and rural settings.

2011

2010