Frontier health

Research Products & Journal Articles

Browse the full list of research publications on this topic completed by the Rural Health Research Centers.

Products – Freely accessible products include policy briefs, fact sheets, full reports, chartbooks, and interactive data websites.

Journal Articles – Articles in peer-reviewed journals may require a subscription or affiliation with a subscribing library. For these publications, Gateway lists the article citation, a brief summary, a link to additional information and access to the full-text of the article, if available.

2025

The Impact of High Hospital Fixed-Cost Ratios on Rural Populations
Policy Brief
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 06/2025
This brief focuses on rural hospitals with high fixed-to-total-cost ratios and describes characteristics of those hospitals, including Critical Access Hospital and Low-Volume Hospital status, and provides some demographics on the communities they serve.

2013

The Frontier Extended Stay Clinic Model: A Potential Health Care Delivery Alternative for Small Rural Communities
RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
Date: 08/2013
This policy brief describes how the Frontier Extended Stay Clinic model may be appropriate in rural communities beyond the five original demonstration sites.

2009

Addressing Suicide Potential and Prevention in Rural and Frontier Areas: Suicide Prevention Toolkit for Rural Primary Care Providers
WICHE Center for Rural Mental Health Research
Date: 08/2009
Suicide rates in rural areas are significantly higher than they are in urban areas for men of all ages and for young women. Research shows that many people visit their primary care physician instead of a mental health provider for mental health problems. A Suicide Prevention Toolkit for rural primary care providers is provided.

2006

Defining the Term "Frontier Area" for Programs Implemented Through the Office for the Advancement of Telehealth
Upper Midwest Rural Health Research Center
Date: 05/2006
This report provides an overview of current frontier definitions and describes the process used to develop a new frontier area definition that could be applied to telehealth programs.
Emergency Medical Services and the Federal Government's Evolving Role: What Rural and Frontier Emergency Medical Services Advocates Should Know
Journal Article
North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
Date: 2006
Examines the debate around recent recommendations for an expanded federal role in supporting Emergency Medical Services (EMS). If federal expansion were to occur, the author recommends that responsibility for EMS be placed in the Department of Health and Human Services.
Rural and Frontier Mental and Behavioral Health Care: Barriers, Effective Policy Strategies, Best Practices
Maine Rural Health Research Center
Date: 2006
This report discusses barriers to mental and behavioral health service delivery in rural America. It includes model programs and model policy strategies for rural mental and behavioral healthcare delivery and discusses the roles that telehealth and that the State Offices of Rural Health should play in service delivery.