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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health Research Centers

The Rural Health Research Centers are designed to help policy makers better understand the problems that rural communities face in assuring access to health care for their residents. The Centers' research findings inform a wide audience of national, state, and local decision-makers concerned with rural health.

Maine Rural Health Research Center
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Focuses on barriers to health access for rural residents and related topics, including health insurance coverage, Medicaid, behavioral health, long-term services and supports, and challenges faced by Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) in delivering and sustaining services.
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North Carolina Rural Health Research Program (NC RHRP)
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Works to identify rural health problems through policy-relevant analyses, geographic and graphical presentation of data, and information dissemination.
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RUPRI Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Focuses on access to healthcare services, Medicare policies, development of rural delivery systems, and public health.
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Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Focuses on investigating persistent inequities in health status within the population of the rural U.S., with an emphasis on inequities stemming from socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, and access to healthcare services.
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Rural and Underserved Health Research Center
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Focuses on underserved rural areas of the U.S., including the predominantly white Appalachia region, predominantly African American Mississippi Delta region, and heavily Hispanic areas of the West.
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Rural Health Equity Research Center
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Focuses on the impacts of substance use disorder (SUD), access to healthcare and social services, and population health. A collaboration of the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) Addiction Science Center, ETSU's Center for Rural Health Research, and the NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis.
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Southwest Rural Health Research Center (SRHRC)
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Offers expertise in h health policy, chronic disease, health economics, aging, long-term care, health law, and epidemiology and biostatistics. Focuses on the needs of rural, underserved populations in Texas and nationwide.
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University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Conducts policy-relevant research focused on access to and quality of healthcare and population health outcomes.
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WWAMI Rural Health Research Center (WWAMI RHRC)
One of the Rural Health Research Centers currently funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy. Focuses on policy-oriented research with an emphasis on the rural healthcare workforce and access to care. Based in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
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Last Reviewed: 7/3/2023