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Rural Health Information Hub

Conducting Rural Health Research, Needs Assessments, and Program Evaluations – Organizations

A&M Rural and Community Health Institute (ARCHI)
A health extension center that promotes safe, effective health care practices, particularly for small community and rural facilities. Activities focus on education, policy, and research. Registered as a practice-based research network. Located at the Texas A&M Health Science Center.
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Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)
Lead federal agency focused on improving the safety and quality of the nation's healthcare system. Invests in research to understand how to make healthcare safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable. Develops resources, tools, and data to help healthcare professionals, policymakers, and consumers make informed health decisions.
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CDC Office of Rural Health
Works across the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to connect and coordinate related to rural public health infrastructure. Located within the CDC Public Health Infrastructure Center.
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Center for Economic Analysis of Rural Health (CEARH)
Provides tools and research for rural communities to explore the connection between healthcare services and the economy in their community. Organization is comprised of University of Kentucky and Oklahoma State University faculty and staff associated with the Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky (CEDIK).
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Commonwealth Fund
Supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve healthcare practice and policy. Dedicated to helping people become more informed about their healthcare and improving care for vulnerable populations such as children, elderly people, low-income families, minority Americans, and the uninsured.
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Essentia Institute of Rural Health (EIRH)
Coordinates educational experiences for health professionals and conducts research activities, with an interest in rural healthcare innovation. Helps to build healthy communities by working collaboratively with patients, providers, and other stakeholders.
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Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP)
Coordinates activities related to rural healthcare within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Part of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Focuses on matters affecting rural hospitals and healthcare, coordinating activities within the department that relate to rural healthcare, and maintaining a national information clearinghouse.
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Flex Monitoring Team
Performance monitoring project for the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program (Flex Program) conducted by the Rural Health Research Centers at the Universities of Minnesota, North Carolina, and Southern Maine. The monitoring project is assessing the impact of the Flex Program on Critical Access Hospitals and their communities and the role of states in achieving overall program objectives.
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High Plains Research Network (HPRN)
Supports a research network of rural primary care practices, hospitals, healthcare facilities, and communities in eastern rural Colorado. Conducts research and quality improvement programs focused on rural primary care practice.
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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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National Rural Health Resource Center (NRHRC)
Provides technical assistance and information resources addressing the transition to value and population health, collaboration and partnership, performance improvement, health information technology, and workforce. Rural Health Innovations (RHI), a subsidiary of the National Rural Health Resource Center, enhances the health of rural communities by providing products and services with a focus on excellence and innovation.
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Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH)
Federally-funded research centers that conduct research and research training responsive to the needs of American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
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NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
Provides policy analysis, research, and evaluation on issues affecting rural health, such as changes in Medicare payments to rural providers, access to care for rural residents, and the rural public health infrastructure.
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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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Oregon Rural Practice-based Research Network (ORPRN)
Works in partnership with communities and practitioners to improve the health of rural populations in Oregon through health research and promotion.
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Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI)
Funds research that can help patients and those who care for them make better-informed decisions about healthcare choices. Work includes investing in research to identify effective strategies for healthcare in rural areas.
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Research and Training Center on Disability in Rural Communities (RTC)
Conducts research on issues of access to transportation and housing, employment and self-employment, independent living services, health and wellness facilities, disability statistics, and inclusion in community planning and activities of people with disabilities. Provides information and training to rural communities on disabilities.
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Research Data Assistance Center (ResDAC)
A Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contractor that provides assistance to academic, government, and nonprofit researchers interested in using Medicare and/or Medicaid data for their research.
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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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Rural Health Research Gateway
Provides access to all of the research and findings of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy's (FORHP) Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Centers. Covers current and completed research projects and publications resulting from those projects. Includes information about the research centers and individual researchers.
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Rural Health Research Institute (RHRI)
Interdisciplinary research center focused on rural health and reducing rural health disparities. Located at Georgia Southern University.
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Rural Oklahoma Network (ROK-Net)
A practice-based research network that focuses on recurring problems in rural primary care. Provides infrastructure for the development of peer learning networks comprised of rural clinicians and providers, researchers, and community partners in Oklahoma.
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Rural Research Alliance of Community Pharmacies (RURAL-CP)
A practice-based research network for rural community pharmacies located in the southeastern states of the U.S. Focuses on building collaborations with colleges of pharmacy to promote social, community, and professional awareness around medication use and pharmacy practices.
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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 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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Tribal Epidemiology Centers (TECs)
Work to improve the health and well-being of AI/AN populations through a variety of activities that include managing public health information systems, investigating diseases of concern, overseeing disease prevention and control programs, responding to public health emergencies, and coordinating these activities with other public health authorities. Supported by a partnership between the Indian Health Service (IHS), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute of Health (NIH), and Office of Minority Health (OMH).
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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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Urban Institute (UI)
Nonprofit research organization focused on the well-being of people and places in the United States. Research includes rural America.
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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: 7/16/2024