Emergency medical services and trauma

Current Projects

• Ambulance Deserts: Addressing Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services
  This two-year study aims to identify geographic disparities in accessing ambulance services by building a database of ambulance service locations in year one and identifying and creating maps of ambulance deserts within each of the states in year two.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Emergency medical services and trauma, Healthcare access, Rural statistics and demographics, Transportation
  
• Examining Differences in Rural and Urban Medicare FFS Beneficiaries' Emergency Department Use Pre-COVID-19 and During COVID-19
  This study describes and compares the differences in the utilization of emergency department (ED) services among rural and urban Medicare Fee-For-Service enrollees during 2018-2021. We will identify factors associated with differences in ED use, including shifts in volume, primary diagnoses, and admission source, before and since the COVID-19 public health emergency in rural and urban areas.
  Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
  Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Critical Access Hospitals, Emergency medical services and trauma, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Medicare, Social determinants of health
  
• Ransomware Attacks on Rural Hospitals
  The rise in hospital ransomware attacks threatens to harm patients, especially in rural areas. This project will use a novel dataset to analyze rural/urban differences in how ransomware attacks affect patients and hospitals.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Critical Access Hospitals, Emergency medical services and trauma, Health information technology, Hospitals and clinics
  
• Socioeconomic Profiles and Market Characteristics Associated with Ambulance Deserts
  We will address the extent to which vulnerable, aging populations live in ambulance deserts and identify ambulance desert populations facing additional barriers to healthcare access. We will also assess the impact of hospital closures on travel distances to the nearest health care facilities.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Emergency medical services and trauma, Healthcare access, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health, Transportation
  
• Understanding Rural Non-Emergent Emergency Department Use
  Research shows rural residents use emergency departments (ED) at higher rates than urban residents. Other studies suggest rural residents are more likely to visit the ED for a non-emergent reasons. This study uses the 2014-17 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to analyze factors associated with rural versus urban residents' non-emergent use of EDs.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Emergency medical services and trauma, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics
  
• Updating and Exploring the Burden of Potentially Avoidable Emergency Department Visits in Rural U.S. Communities
  This project will update the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's research portfolio on potentially avoidable emergency department (ED) visits among rural residents across the U.S., particularly as they relate to ambulatory care sensitive conditions (ACSCs). Data on ACSC-related ED visits will be drawn from the State Emergency Department Databases, and findings will be stratified by census region, patient's place along the urban-rural continuum, and by race/ethnicity.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Emergency medical services and trauma, Healthcare access, Medicaid and CHIP, Uninsured and underinsured