Rural Health
Research Gateway

Health promotion and disease prevention

Current Projects

  • Assessing the Clinical and Financial Impact of Community Health Workers in Rural America
    This scoping review project will assess how often the existing literature has examined community health workers (CHW) in rural America and what the literature suggests about the clinical and financial impact that CHWs have in rural communities.
    Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Allied health professionals, Health promotion and disease prevention, Social determinants of health
  • Building the Rural Evidence Base: Examining the Feasibility of Implementing Pilot Programs and Demonstrations in Rural Communities
    Evidence-based interventions are commonly developed in populated, urban centers and then adapted for rural communities. This project will investigate the benefits of piloting and evaluating interventions in rural areas to build the rural evidence base as a step in addressing rural health disparities and improving health conditions in rural communities.
    Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services
  • Disparities in Screening, Prevention, and Management of Cardiovascular Disease in Rural and Urban Primary Care
    This study will use a large national primary care registry to compare cardiovascular disease (CVD) screening, prevention, and management quality measures between rural and urban primary care practices. It will also assess for disparities by patient composition of the practice.
    Research center: Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Physicians, Quality
  • Examining the Costs Associated With Dental Restorative Services in the Absence of Preventive Services Among Pediatric Medicaid Beneficiaries by Rurality
    This project will examine the costs associated with pediatric dental restorative services in the absence of preventive services. This study focuses on children with Medicaid who have historically been less likely to receive preventive dental care with subsequent impacts on pain, infections, and overall development.
    Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Children and adolescents, Health promotion and disease prevention, Medicaid and CHIP, Oral health, Poverty, Public health, Social determinants of health
  • Rural-Urban Differences in Food-Store Access and Food Security
    This study will inform rural community members and policy makers about access to food supply and food security that can help guide the development and implementation of relevant interventions.
    Research center: University of South Carolina Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Health promotion and disease prevention, Poverty, Public health, Social determinants of health, Transportation
  • Rural/Urban Differences in Forgoing Health Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic
    Several surveys conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic showed that adults delayed or skipped healthcare services during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines changes in healthcare utilization for primary and preventative care among rural and urban Medicare fee-for-service enrollees since the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Aging, Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Diabetes, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Medicare, Mental and behavioral health, Telehealth
  • Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) Penetration in Rural vs. Urban Healthcare Settings in the U.S.
    This study will include an analysis of 2018/2019 Medicare, Medicaid and Commercial claims to compare the penetration of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) and its different components in rural compared to urban healthcare settings. Within the overarching analysis, the study team will examine the type of interventions conducted within the SBIRT framework stratified by provider type, healthcare setting, and rural and urban provider ZIP codes. Findings will be analyzed within the context of county-level substance use rates, historical enactment of state SBIRT billing codes, overdoses, and alcohol poisoning-based hospital admissions contrasting trends in SBIRT administration with a proxy for community need.
    Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Chronic diseases and conditions, Health promotion and disease prevention, Medicaid and CHIP, Medicare, Mental and behavioral health, Private health insurance, Public health, Substance use and treatment