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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Research methods and resources

Serious Illness Care Research: Exploring Current Knowledge, Emerging Evidence, and Future Directions: Proceedings of a Workshop
Reports proceedings of a November 2023 workshop on serious illness care research. Includes content of presentations and discussions on lived experience of affected individuals, current and future state of the field, approaches to addressing research gaps, barriers and facilitators to health equity in research, and translation to practice. Pages 76-79 include discussion of rural health equity in palliative care.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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AACR Cancer Disparities Progress Report 2024: Achieving the Bold Vision of Health Equity
Discusses cancer disparities with focus on race and ethnicity, rural and other medically underserved populations, social determinants of health, research, related health conditions, screening, mortality, workforce, and public policy. Discusses rural throughout including rural and urban comparisons.
Date: 2024
Sponsoring organization: American Association for Cancer Research
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How Rural Is All of Us? Comparing Characteristics of Rural Participants in the National Institute of Health's All of Us Research Program to Other National Data Sources
Compares the All of Us health research dataset that utilizes self-reported rurality to other nationally representative data sources that represent rurality. Discusses implications of using the All for Us dataset as a proxy measure of rurality in health research.
Author(s): Janessa M. Graves, Shawna R. Beese, Demetrius A. Abshire, Kevin J. Bennett
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 40(4), 745-751
Date: 2024
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Study Protocol: Maintaining Preventive Care During Public Health Emergencies Through Effective Coordination
Presents a qualitative study protocol that examines screening rates at VA medical centers during COVID-19 to determine strategies that provide continued care during public health emergencies. Discusses selection of sites, which will be based on rurality, COVID-19 patient caseload, and performance related to cancer and mental health screenings. Highlights the importance of care coordination teams in regard to specialty care.
Author(s): Sylvia J. Hysong, Traber Davis Giardina, Jennifer Freytag, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science Communications, 4, 150
Date: 11/2023
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Identifying a Consensus Set of EMS Agency Licensure Elements and Definitions to Support Rural EMS Data Collection
Discusses gaps in data on rural emergency medical service (EMS) agencies and systems of care. Summarizes findings from a review of state EMS agency licensing applications and discussions from a panel of rural EMS experts. Identifies a consensus set of core EMS licensure elements and definitions for consideration by state EMS authorities in order to enhance licensure application processes and align data collection efforts with other states.
Author(s): John Gale, Celia Jewell, Karen Pearson
Date: 11/2023
Sponsoring organization: Flex Monitoring Team
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Data Element Identification and Data Collection Procedures for the HRSA Direct-to-Consumer Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program
Provides an overview of the development of a common set of data elements to evaluate the Office of the Advancement of Teleheath's Evidence Based Telehealth Network Program, which aims to build an evidence base for telehealth in rural settings. Outlines 27 patient-level, encounter-level, and outcome data elements on patients who receive direct-to-consumer telehealth services and a comparable group of patients who receive in-person services. Describes data collection and management procedures.
Author(s): Marcia M. Ward, Kimberly Merchant, Fred Ullrich, et al.
Date: 10/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Telehealth Research Center
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A Formal Framework For Incorporating Equity Into Health Care Quality Measurement
Describes equity weighting, a measurement used to address population health disparities by examining multiple demographic factors that then interpret healthcare quality for specific population groups. Utilizes 2017 Medicare colorectal cancer screening data to show examples of equity weighting, with demographics broken down by patient race and rurality.
Author(s): Denis Agniel, Irineo Cabreros, Cheryl L. Damberg, Marc N. Elliott, Rhianna Rogers
Citation: Health Affairs, 42(10)
Date: 10/2023
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2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) Methodological Resource Book
Report details the data collection practices and methodology to conduct the Nation Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for 2022. Highlights data collection information for large, small, and nonmetropolitan areas.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Tribal Epidemiology Centers: At the Forefront of American Indian/Alaska Native Public Health
Discusses Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs) and their work with tribal partners to address challenges related to American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) data. Includes information on culturally sensitive data collection, the importance of TEC work, AI/AN data best practices, impacts of COVID-19, and more.
Author(s): Laura D. Cassidy, DenYelle Kenyon, Jamie Ritchey, et al.
Citation: Public Health Reports, 138(2 suppl)
Date: 08/2023
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Food for Thought - Facing the Facts About Food Insecurity: Episode 2
Podcast episode discussing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research on food insecurity in rural areas. Describes the prevalence of food insecure households, behavioral responses to food insecurity, and how USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) research and data can inform policy and community-driven solutions.
Date: 08/2023
Sponsoring organization: Impact! Communications, Inc.
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