Maternal health

Completed Projects

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

2023

• Overcoming Barriers to Providing Rural Obstetrical Training for Physicians
  Rural communities struggle to maintain obstetrical (OB) services, due in part to scarce rural training opportunities for obstetricians and family physicians. This study described the availability, characteristics, and output of residency and fellowship programs offering rural OB training and identified solutions to support this training.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Healthcare access, Maternal health, Physicians, Women, Workforce
  

2022

• Safe Obstetric Care Access for All Rural Residents: Minimum Standards for Clinical, Workforce, and Financial Viability of Rural Obstetric Units
  The goal of this project was to analyze data from rural hospitals to understand the criteria by which hospitals and communities assess their need and capacity for obstetric care access in rural counties and to describe effective ways to operationalize minimum standards for clinical safety and financial viability for rural obstetric units.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Critical Access Hospitals, Health disparities and health equity, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Women, Workforce
  

2021

• A Current Examination of HIV and Hepatitis C in Rural Counties
  Using data from federal and state sources, we produced a chartbook on county-level data on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevalence and acute hepatitis C virus (HCV) incidence, examined the availability of Ryan White HIV/AIDS medical providers and other HIV and HCV treatment/testing services across the rural-urban continuum, and estimated county-level prevalence of maternal HCV infection.
  Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Maternal health, Mental and behavioral health, Substance use and treatment
  
• Predictors and Barriers to Achieving Immunization in Rural and Urban Areas
  Prenatal and timely childhood immunizations offer the optimal strategy for preventing severe morbidity and mortality due to vaccine-preventable disease. This project evaluated possible gaps in immunization services for pregnant women and their infants in rural areas as compared to urban areas.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health promotion and disease prevention, Health services, Maternal health
  
• Trends in Preterm Birth by Rural Status in the U.S.
  This project determined rates of preterm birth by rural versus urban residence and across census regions. The project also examined the relationship between preterm birth and maternal characteristics, including race and ethnicity as well as pregnancy complications among women in rural versus urban residence.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Maternal health, Women
  

2020

• Emergency Obstetrics in Communities Without Hospital-Based Maternity Care
  The purpose of this project was to describe rural hospitals that do not provide obstetric services and to survey a sample of these hospitals regarding their capacity for emergency obstetrics locally in order to inform policy to support access to high-quality maternity care for all pregnant rural residents.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  
• Making It Work: Models of Success in Rural Maternity Care
  The purpose of this project was to update information on access to obstetric services in rural counties, to identify common factors across rural communities that have maintained local hospital-based obstetric services, and to describe best practices associated with successfully supporting birth locally in rural communities.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  
• The Supply and Rural-Urban Distribution of the Obstetrical Care Workforce in the U.S.
  This project will use multiple data sources to characterize the distribution of the obstetrical care workforce in the U.S., comparing health professional-to-population ratios in rural and urban areas. Health professionals examined in this study include obstetricians, family physicians, and certified nurse midwives.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Healthcare access, Maternal health, Physicians, Workforce
  
• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) 2009 Food Package Revisions on Participants in Rural Areas with Extreme Poverty Levels: Impact on Infant Breastfeeding, Infant Feeding, and Health Outcomes
  This study examines the effects of the revised Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program food packages on breastfeeding rates among WIC participants in areas designated as rural, with high levels of extreme poverty and food deserts, and/or high rates of those who are overweight and obese.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Maternal health, Poverty, Women
  

2019

• Developing Rural-Relevant Strategies to Reduce Maternal Morbidity
  The purpose of this project was to distinguish and analyze predictors of maternal morbidity during childbirth hospitalization by geography and to develop recommendations to improve the safety of childbirth for rural residents. It also assessed the degree of rural focus and representation in current policy efforts to address this crisis.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Healthcare access, Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Maternal health, Quality, Women
  

2018

• Rural-Urban Differences in Opioid-Affected Pregnancies and Births
  This analysis aimed to combat the opioid epidemic in rural communities by describing the rates and predictors of non-medical opioid use prior to and during pregnancy and maternal diagnosis of opioid use disorder at birth, based on rural or urban maternal residence and rural or urban hospital location.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Maternal health, Substance use and treatment, Women
  

2017

• Are Rural Mothers and Infants Benefiting from Changes in National Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Policy?
  This study explored breastfeeding practices among rural participants in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Program before and after a federal policy change in WIC Food Packages. National Food and Nutrition Survey data was used to examine the potential impact on breastfeeding, infant feeding practices, and food/beverage consumption.
  Research center: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Maternal health, Poverty, Women
  

2016

• Rural Hospital Obstetric Workforce, Procedure Utilization, and Quality of Care
  This study examines the relationships between key aspects of the obstetric workforce in rural hospitals and procedure intensity and quality of maternity care in those hospitals.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Maternal health, Quality, Women, Workforce
  

2014

• Obstetric Care Practice Models and Quality in Rural Hospitals
  The project will examine current obstetric practice models in rural hospitals and assess the prospects for implementation of new policy recommendations for reducing primary cesarean rates and non-medically indicated inductions of labor in rural hospitals.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Maternal health, Quality
  

2013

• Quality of Obstetric Care and Perinatal Safety in Rural Hospitals
  The project will use both national and state-level hospital discharge data to examine obstetric care quality and perinatal safety in rural U.S. hospitals, with an in-depth focus on rural hospitals in a nationally representative group of eight states across all four U.S. Census regions.
  Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Critical Access Hospitals, Maternal health, Women
  

2012

• Analysis of State Dental Hygiene Practice Acts and Medicaid Policies for Children's Dental Care: Services Covered and Practitioners Reimbursed
  The purpose of this qualitative analysis will be to obtain a clear picture of the degree to which (1) state SCHIP and Medicaid programs are implementing waivers, or other programs, to improve access to dental care for vulnerable populations including children and pregnant women; and (2) dental hygienists impact the dental safety net for rural America.
  Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Maternal health, Medicaid and CHIP, Oral health
  

2008

• Changes in U.S. Rural Perinatal and Infant Health Care During the Last Decade
  This study examined changes in rates of adverse birth outcomes and prenatal care among rural Americans of different racial and ethnic groups during two time periods. The study used national data from the Linked Birth Death Data Sets to assess differences in low birth weight, neonatal death, post neonatal mortality and inadequate prenatal care.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Maternal health
  

2006

• Declining Access to Hospital-based Obstetric Services in Rural Areas: Causes and Impact
  This study examines the declining availability of hospital-based obstetric services in rural areas from the mid-1980s to the early 2000s. It examines potential causes for this trend and explores the effects of medical malpractice reforms.
  Research center: NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
  Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Legislation and regulation, Maternal health, Women
  

2005

• National Trends in the Perinatal and Infant Health Care of Rural and Urban American Indians (AIs) and Alaska Natives (ANs)
  This project examined and compared trends in prenatal care and mortality rates of rural and urban AI/AN and non-AI/AN populations in order to determine the level of disparity between these populations and their temporal changes.
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: American Indians and Alaska Natives, Children and adolescents, Health disparities and health equity, Maternal health, Minority health
  

2004

• Analysis of the Cesarean Section Rates in Rural Hospitals
  This project will describe the practice patterns for deliveries in rural hospitals. Cesarean section rates in rural hospitals will be compared to urban hospitals and the national rate.
  Research center: North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center
  Topics: Hospitals and clinics, Maternal health
  
• Impact of Medicaid Managed Care, Race/Ethnicity, and Rural/Urban Residence on Avoidable Maternity Complications: A Five-State Multi-level Analysis
  This project will examine differences in access to care for pregnant women enrolled in Medicaid Managed Care (MMC) and Medicaid fee-for-service, and examine differences in the impact of MMC on access among rural and minority persons.
  Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
  Topics: Maternal health, Medicaid and CHIP, Minority health, Women
  

2003

• Are Rural Perinatal Care Systems Deregionalizing?
  Research center: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Health services, Maternal health
  
• Resource Mothers: Effect of a Home Visitation Program Using Indigenous Paraprofessionals on Maternal-Infant Preventive Services, Modifiable Risk Factors and Health Outcomes
  Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
  Topics: Children and adolescents, Maternal health