Nicole Galler, DrPH, MPH

Email: gallern@etsu.edu
LinkedIn: Nicole on LinkedIn

Center for Rural Health and Research
East Tennessee State University
2109 W Market St, #116
Johnson City, TN 37604

Current Projects - (1)

Characterizing the Current Landscape of Freestanding Emergency Departments in Rural Areas
This descriptive study will combine a 50-state legal scan with national facility mapping to describe where freestanding emergency departments operate, how they are defined, and whether their locations suggest they are expanding emergency access in rural communities or overlapping with existing rural emergency care infrastructure.
Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Emergency medical services (EMS) and trauma, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Rural Emergency Hospitals (REHs)

Overcoming Challenges With Rural-Related Health Data: Lessons Learned From Published Studies
Policy Brief
ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
Date: 04/2026
This study identifies potential strategies for overcoming study-related limitations or challenges, including those concerning data, within rural-related studies using secondary, quantitative data. Findings offer lessons learned from the peer-reviewed literature that could inform future research and practice efforts focused on rural populations.

A Review of Common Limitations in Rural-Related Studies in the Peer-Reviewed Literature
Policy Brief
ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
Date: 09/2025
This study describes limitations commonly reported in rural-related studies on health, with a focus on studies using secondary, quantitative data.
Rural and Urban Differences in Suicide in the United States, 2018-2021
Policy Brief
ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2025
Suicide remains a significant cause of mortality in the United States. This policy brief examines state-level differences in suicide rates by demographics and geography, with a focus on rural and urban areas from 2018 to 2021. The study employs a cross-sectional, retrospective design using secondary data sources.