Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Research methods and resources
Understanding and Using American Community Survey Data: What Users of Data for Rural Areas Need to Know
An overview of what data users need to know about working with American Community Survey (ACS) data for rural areas. Addresses how rural is defined, the use of 5-year estimates, strategies to produce reliable estimates for rural communities, where to access rural ACS estimates, and case studies of rural data use.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
view details
An overview of what data users need to know about working with American Community Survey (ACS) data for rural areas. Addresses how rural is defined, the use of 5-year estimates, strategies to produce reliable estimates for rural communities, where to access rural ACS estimates, and case studies of rural data use.
Date: 10/2020
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
view details
Recruitment Best Practices of a Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Randomised Control Trial in Rural Alaska Native Communities
Describes the research methods of the Healthy and Empowering Alaskan Lives Towards Healthy Hearts (HEALTHH) project, which recruited participants from the 16 communities that make up the rural Norton Sound region of Alaska to study smoking behavior and chronic disease prevention efforts among Alaska Native populations. Explores special considerations for research involving remote tribal communities and analyzes data related to recruitment best practices, staffing issues, and barriers to enrolling study participants.
Author(s): Mariah Knox, Jordan Skan, Neal L. Benowitz, Matthew Schnellbaecher, Judith J. Prochaska
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 79(1), 1806639
Date: 08/2020
view details
Describes the research methods of the Healthy and Empowering Alaskan Lives Towards Healthy Hearts (HEALTHH) project, which recruited participants from the 16 communities that make up the rural Norton Sound region of Alaska to study smoking behavior and chronic disease prevention efforts among Alaska Native populations. Explores special considerations for research involving remote tribal communities and analyzes data related to recruitment best practices, staffing issues, and barriers to enrolling study participants.
Author(s): Mariah Knox, Jordan Skan, Neal L. Benowitz, Matthew Schnellbaecher, Judith J. Prochaska
Citation: International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 79(1), 1806639
Date: 08/2020
view details
Effective Community-Based Initiatives Are Needed to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Describes 6 community-research collaboratives to address the opioid crisis at the local level, including programs in St. Louis, MO, Olympia, WA, Ithaca, NY, and rural programs in Rio Arriba County, NM, western North Carolina, and tribal communities in the Midwest and the Northern Plains.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Pew
view details
Describes 6 community-research collaboratives to address the opioid crisis at the local level, including programs in St. Louis, MO, Olympia, WA, Ithaca, NY, and rural programs in Rio Arriba County, NM, western North Carolina, and tribal communities in the Midwest and the Northern Plains.
Author(s): Beth Connolly, Leslie Paulson
Date: 07/2020
Sponsoring organization: Pew
view details
National Hospital Care Survey Demonstration Projects: Opioid-Involved Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths
Demonstrates a method for linking three data sets to examine opioid-involved emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and mortality. Reported results are not nationally representative. Includes analysis of opioid-involved and nonopioid-involved ED-only visits for rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Merianne Rose Spencer, Lee Anne Flagg, Geoff Jackson, Carol DeFrances, Holly Hedegaard
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Demonstrates a method for linking three data sets to examine opioid-involved emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations, and mortality. Reported results are not nationally representative. Includes analysis of opioid-involved and nonopioid-involved ED-only visits for rural and urban areas.
Author(s): Merianne Rose Spencer, Lee Anne Flagg, Geoff Jackson, Carol DeFrances, Holly Hedegaard
Date: 06/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
view details
Use of Small-Area Estimates to Describe County-Level Geographic Variation in Prevalence of Extreme Obesity among US Adults
Study examining the variability in prevalence of extreme obesity at the county level, using small-area estimation to pinpoint specific areas of high and low prevalence. Uses data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the U.S. Census Bureau to create county-level estimates for adults over 18 years of age. Discusses contrasting pictures of extreme obesity at a broad state level and at the county level, highlighting ranges of prevalence in select states and noting some areas of rural prevalence.
Author(s): Carrie W. Mills, Glen Johnson, Terry T. K. Huang, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(5), e204289
Date: 05/2020
view details
Study examining the variability in prevalence of extreme obesity at the county level, using small-area estimation to pinpoint specific areas of high and low prevalence. Uses data from the 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the U.S. Census Bureau to create county-level estimates for adults over 18 years of age. Discusses contrasting pictures of extreme obesity at a broad state level and at the county level, highlighting ranges of prevalence in select states and noting some areas of rural prevalence.
Author(s): Carrie W. Mills, Glen Johnson, Terry T. K. Huang, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 3(5), e204289
Date: 05/2020
view details
Considerations for Defining Rural Places in Health Policies and Programs
Highlights key questions to be considered when evaluating a definition of rural that is most appropriate for a specific policy or program. Discusses the principles needed to drive rural definitions and the current challenges of changing rural definitions. Provides an overview of common rural definitions in use, and offers options for the development of new definitions and adjustments to current definitions.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, Alana Knudson, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
Highlights key questions to be considered when evaluating a definition of rural that is most appropriate for a specific policy or program. Discusses the principles needed to drive rural definitions and the current challenges of changing rural definitions. Provides an overview of common rural definitions in use, and offers options for the development of new definitions and adjustments to current definitions.
Author(s): Keith J. Mueller, Andrew F. Coburn, Alana Knudson, Jennifer P. Lundblad, A. Clinton MacKinney, et al.
Date: 05/2020
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
view details
In Search of "Good" Rural Data: Measuring Rural Prosperity
Discusses the availability of data on rural communities, including economic, health, demographic, and geographic data, and issues that make rural data collection and reporting difficult. Compares 22 datasets, exploring what makes data collection difficult and what makes specific datasets challenging to work with. Addresses methods of locating good information in existing datasets, as well as steps toward improving data access.
Author(s): Corianne Payton Scally, Eric Burnstein, Matthew Gerken, Evelyn Immonen
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Housing Assistance Council, Urban Institute
view details
Discusses the availability of data on rural communities, including economic, health, demographic, and geographic data, and issues that make rural data collection and reporting difficult. Compares 22 datasets, exploring what makes data collection difficult and what makes specific datasets challenging to work with. Addresses methods of locating good information in existing datasets, as well as steps toward improving data access.
Author(s): Corianne Payton Scally, Eric Burnstein, Matthew Gerken, Evelyn Immonen
Date: 04/2020
Sponsoring organizations: Aspen Institute, Housing Assistance Council, Urban Institute
view details
Including Rural Populations in Research
Presents a video discussing the importance of researchers to include rural populations and rural programs in their healthcare research in order to address geographic health disparities. Captions available in video player.
Author(s): Kristine Sande
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
view details
Presents a video discussing the importance of researchers to include rural populations and rural programs in their healthcare research in order to address geographic health disparities. Captions available in video player.
Author(s): Kristine Sande
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
view details
Using Data to Define Rural Populations
Offers a step-by-step guide for developing a rural community baseline dataset, and identifies links to helpful resources and existing datasets, with the intent to help State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) focus on the demographics influencing health and the health needs of the rural communities within their state.
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details
Offers a step-by-step guide for developing a rural community baseline dataset, and identifies links to helpful resources and existing datasets, with the intent to help State Offices of Rural Health (SORH) focus on the demographics influencing health and the health needs of the rural communities within their state.
Date: 02/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details
U.S. Census 2020: Engagement Opportunities for Rural Health Stakeholders
Discusses the U.S. Census Bureau's set of "Hard-to-Count" target areas for the 2020 census that include rural census tracts. Identifies ways in which rural stakeholders can use this information to engage healthcare providers in census support activities.
Citation: NOSORH Issue Brief, 2(3)
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details
Discusses the U.S. Census Bureau's set of "Hard-to-Count" target areas for the 2020 census that include rural census tracts. Identifies ways in which rural stakeholders can use this information to engage healthcare providers in census support activities.
Citation: NOSORH Issue Brief, 2(3)
Date: 01/2020
Sponsoring organization: National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health
view details