Public health

Current Projects

  • Assessing Geographic Variability in Key Indicators of Water Quality and Air Quality: A Comparison of Urban vs. Rural Communities
    The purpose of this project is to compare air and water quality indicators across U.S. Census tracts specifically focusing on rural vs. urban differences.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Environmental and agricultural health, Health disparities and health equity, Public health, Social determinants of health
  • Availability and Quality of Dialysis in Rural Counties with a High Diabetes Burden
    This project will examine the degree to which counties with a high population risk for end stage renal disease, defined by high diabetes prevalence, are served by dialysis providers. It will assess the accessibility and quality of services for end stage renal disease looking for disparities associated with rural residence and racial/ethnic population composition.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Diabetes, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Public health, Quality
  • Changes in Medicare Fee-for-Services Health Care Expenditures in Rural and Urban Communities after Passage of the Affordable Care Act
    This project will assess changes in Medicare per-beneficiary spending across rural and urban counties from 2007 to 2020. It will examine differences in rural versus urban per-beneficiary spending on hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient, physician, and post-acute care after the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Public health
  • Clinical-Community Linkages in Non-Metropolitan and Metropolitan Hospitals: COVID-19 Impacts and Trends
    This study will examine trends in partnerships between hospitals and public health departments and other community linkages in both non-metropolitan and metropolitan hospitals with a particular focus on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Research center: RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
    Topics: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), Critical Access Hospitals, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Networking and collaboration, Public health, Social determinants of health
  • Examining Rural-Urban Differences in Availability of Hospital Cardiac Testing Services Between 2010-2020
    This project will examine whether the availability of hospital-based cardiac testing services has changed over the past ten years in rural and urban counties and identify the characteristics of counties where service availability has changed.
    Research center: Rural and Minority Health Research Center
    Topics: Care management, Chronic diseases and conditions, Health disparities and health equity, Health services, Hospitals and clinics, Public health
  • Following the Money: Do Block Grant Resources Reach Rural Communities?
    This project will apply a mixed methods design to describe the distribution of block grant resources from federal agencies through states to the local level in rural and non-rural communities in the United States. Findings could guide federal agencies and policy makers to develop strategies to more effectively target block grant resources to ensure that the needs of vulnerable rural populations are addressed.
    Research center: Rural Health Equity Research Center
    Topics: Health services, Healthcare financing, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics
  • Housing as a Social Determinant of Rural Health
    The purpose of this project is to identify rural/urban and within-rural differences in housing quality and its relationship to health and disability status, especially for individuals living in poverty. We will also identify rural-specific housing issues and innovative policy solutions to address housing challenges in order to improve rural health.
    Research center: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Disabilities, Environmental and agricultural health, Health disparities and health equity, Poverty, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Social determinants of health
  • Out-of-Pocket Spending Among Privately Insured Rural and Urban Residents
    Out-of-pocket spending for healthcare services has been on the rise as deductibles and other cost-sharing requirements among the privately insured increase. This study compares rural and urban out-of-pocket healthcare spending to identify whether rural residents have been disproportionately affected by this trend.
    Research center: Maine Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Healthcare financing, Private health insurance, Public health, Uninsured and underinsured
  • 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: Rural Health Equity 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