Health promotion and disease prevention

Completed Projects

Listed by project completion date. You can also view these projects alphabetically.

Rural/Urban Variations in Cancer Screening During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Using the National Cancer Institute Health Information National Trends Survey, we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the receipt of recommended screenings for common cancers. Findings informed 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 promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthcare access

Diabetes Management in Urban and Rural Areas of the U.S.
This project used the IBM MarketScan database to examine differences in type 2 diabetes prevalence and monitoring for a commercially insured sample. It also employed definitions from the Health Effectiveness Data and Information Set guidelines for comprehensive diabetes care to determine if rural residents are more or less likely to meet recommended standards for type 2 diabetes monitoring and control.
Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Diabetes, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Healthcare access, Private health insurance, Quality
Rural and Urban Primary Care Physicians' Colorectal Screening Performance
The objectives of this project were to profile, compare, and further understand rural versus urban differences in colorectal screening performance among primary care physicians nationally.
Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention, Healthcare access, Physicians

Longitudinal Trends in Community Mental Health Center and Federally Qualified Health Center Supply in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties
This study described how the supply of community mental health centers and Federally Qualified Health Centers has changed over time in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan counties nationally.
Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Hospitals and clinics, Mental and behavioral health, Rural Health Clinics (RHCs), Substance use and treatment

Medicare Beneficiaries' Access to Preventive Services: Diabetes Self-Management Training, Medical Nutrition Therapy, and Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention
Medicare offers preventive services focused on self-management through several programs: Diabetes Self-Management Training, Medical Nutrition Therapy, and Health and Behavior Assessment and Intervention.
Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Topics: Diabetes, Health promotion and disease prevention, Medicare, Obesity
Risky Substance Use Among Adolescents and Adults in Nonmetropolitan and Metropolitan Counties
Little research has examined the prevalence of risky substance use (alcohol and drugs) among nonmetropolitan adolescents and adults relative to their metropolitan counterparts. Using nationally representative data, this project shed new light on the prevalence and correlates of risky substance use that could inform prevention strategies.
Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Mental and behavioral health, Substance use and treatment

Preventive Health Service Use Among Rural Residents
Examining differences in rural-urban preventive health service use is critical to assessing the impact of health benefit design changes on access to preventive services and their use among rural and urban populations. We used National Health Institute Survey data to compare receipt of preventive health services among rural and urban adults.
Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Women

Addressing Rural Social Isolation as a Health and Mortality Risk Factor
This project aimed to describe rural/urban differences in the prevalence of social isolation, as well as to identify challenges and strategies related to addressing rural social isolation in order to inform policy-making.
Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Aging, Health promotion and disease prevention
Barriers and Disparities Associated with Pneumococcal Immunization Among Rural Elderly Adults
Our Center conducted analyses of national survey data and unique insurance claims data sets to identify how rurality of residence and key demographic, social, and economic characteristics serve as barriers or facilitators to vaccination against pneumococcal disease, which is relatively common although largely preventable among older Americans.
Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
Topic: Health promotion and disease prevention

Colorectal Cancer Screening Bypass Behavior and Outcomes
Studies have shown that increased distance to the closest endoscopy provider is associated with lower screening utilization among Medicare enrollees. The purpose of this study is to expand beyond the Medicare population to examine the travel behaviors of the entire population, comparing urban vs. rural residents in obtaining endoscopies for colorectal cancer screening.
Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention, Medicare

Preventive Care: Supports and Barriers to Best Practices for a National Sample of Rural Medicare Beneficiaries
Preventive health screenings are generally underutilized in the United States by the elderly, especially those residing in rural areas. Using an integrative approach, including secondary data analysis of a large nationally representative dataset (Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey) and complementary qualitative interviews with rural elders, the proposed research study aims for a more complete understanding of the factors influencing use of these practices.
Research center: FORHP-funded Individual Grantees
Topics: Aging, Health promotion and disease prevention
Rural Environmental Hazards Inventory and Associated Health Outcomes
This study will create a national inventory of potential environmental hazards for rural populations. Population health outcomes such as CDC mortality statistics will be examined to determine if poor health outcomes are related to greater exposures to potential hazards.
Research center: West Virginia Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Health promotion and disease prevention, Public health, Transportation

Financing Rural Public Health Activities in Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
This project describes the federal-state funding streams for selected local public health activities in the area of chronic disease prevention and health promotion, and assesses potential barriers to program implementation in less populated, local areas of a state.
Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention, Healthcare financing, Public health

Breast, Cervical, Colorectal, and Prostate Cancer Screening in Rural America: Does Proximity to a Metropolitan Area Matter?
The study compared cancer screening rates among various levels of rural versus urban Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System respondents.
Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
Topics: Cancer, Health promotion and disease prevention