Rural Health
Research Gateway

Cancer

Current Projects

  • Federal Agencies' Recent Collaboration and Innovation in Rural Cancer Control: A Model for Practice
    The investigators will conduct an examination of the multi-year effort by the National Cancer Institute to focus on rural cancer issues and its collaboration with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. The project will explore the key pieces of evidence that served as the impetus for the emphasis on rural America in cancer control efforts.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Health disparities and health equity
  • Racial and Ethnic Disparities Shouldered by Rural Americans: Evidence from the Peer-Reviewed and Grey Literature on the Five Leading Causes of Death
    A systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature will explore the role of racial and ethnic disparities in the five leading causes of death. The project will provide historical and context setting perspectives on the contributors to the five leading causes of death, particularly as they involve the intersection of rurality and non-majority demographic identities.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity, Minority health
  • Rural and Urban Cancer Survivors' Follow-Up Care Experiences
    This project examines rural vs. urban differences in cancer survivors' follow-up care experiences using the 2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Care management, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Physicians, Post-acute care, Quality
  • Rural/Urban Variations in Cancer Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Using the National Cancer Institute Health Information National Trends Survey, we will examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the receipt of recommended screenings for common cancers. Findings will inform policymakers about potential widening of rural/urban disparities in the receipt of cancer preventive services and the potential need to target these services toward rural residents.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Health disparities and health equity, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthcare access
  • Specialist Physicians in the Rural and Urban U.S.: Supply, Distribution, and Access
    This project will describe the geographic distribution (rural/urban, regional, and intra-rural) of specialist physicians who care for patients experiencing conditions that account for the top four leading causes of rural mortality. It will also explore how patients in rural communities that lack these specialists obtain needed care.
    Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Frontier health, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Physicians, Social determinants of health, Telehealth, Workforce
  • Trends and Predictors of Urban-Rural and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Hospitalizations Associated with the Top Five Cancers
    This project will serve to update the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's cancer research portfolio. Using recent nationally representative hospital discharge data, the researchers will examine trends and predictors of hospitalizations associated with the top five cancers in the U.S.: skin, lung, prostrate, breast, and colorectal.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Cancer, Health disparities and health equity