Whitney E. Zahnd, PhD

Deputy Director, RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis

Email: whitney-zahnd@uiowa.edu
X: @WhitneyZahnd

Health Management and Policy
University of Iowa
145 N. Riverside Drive
Iowa City, IA 52242


Current Projects - (1)

  • Concordance Between Social Needs Screening Provision, Programming, and Partnerships in Rural PPS Hospitals
    This study will examine how rural Prospective Payment System (PPS) hospitals differ from urban hospitals concerning social needs screening practices and alignment between social needs screening performance and corresponding programs/strategies and/or community partnerships to address social needs.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare Prospective Payment System (PPS), Networking and collaboration, Social determinants of health

Completed Projects - (3)

  • Clinical-Community Linkages in Non-Metropolitan and Metropolitan Hospitals: COVID-19 Impacts and Trends
    This study examined trends in partnerships between hospitals and public health departments and other community linkages in both non-metropolitan and metropolitan hospitals with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs), Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Networking and collaboration, Public health, Social determinants of health
  • Rural and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in COVID-19 Mortality Rates and Associations with Community Characteristics
    This project examined rural and racial/ethnic disparities in COVID-19 mortality rates during the peak of COVID-19 deaths (December 2020-January 2021). Researchers examined mortality rates across non-metropolitan and metropolitan counties overall and stratified by racial/ethnic composition and U.S. census region, and spatial regression methods were used to identify community characteristics (e.g., rurality, sociodemographic, health conditions, and health care access) associated with mortality rates at the county level.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Three Domains of Access to Health Care Services
    This study proposed to leverage 2018 and 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data to examine rural-urban and racial/ethnic differences within rural in three domains of access to health care services (affordability, accommodation, and acceptability) that are less frequently examined in population-based surveys.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Minority health

Publications - (39)

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019