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Rural Health
Research Gateway

Public health

Current Projects

  • 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: 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
  • Suicide Mortality: A Comparison of Urban and Rural Rates
    Suicide contributes to significant mortality in the United States. This project will examine the differences in suicide rates by geography and explore its driving factors among urban and rural areas in the United States from 2018 to 2021. The research design of this study will adopt a cross-sectional, retrospective approach, using secondary data.
    Research center: ETSU/NORC Rural Health Research Center
    Topics: Healthcare access, Mental and behavioral health, Public health, Rural statistics and demographics, Uninsured and underinsured