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

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Conducting Rural Health Research, Needs Assessments, and Program Evaluations.

Development of a Culturally Anchored Qualitative Approach to Conduct and Analyze Focus Group Narratives Collected in Diné (Navajo) Communities to Understand the Impacts of the Gold King Mine Spill of 2015
Presents an overview of a focus group study of the impacts of the Gold King Mine Spill of 2015 on communities in the Navajo Nation in partnership with community members. Discusses the process of developing the partnership between university, tribal college, and Navajo Nation representatives, developing the focus group methodology, and conducting the focus groups, highlighting the cultural practices and leadership of the Navajo Nation.
Author(s): Nicolette I. Teufel-Shone, Carmenlita Chief, Jennifer R. Richards, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(17), 9402
Date: 09/2021
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Inequities in the Geographic Accessibility of COVID-19 Biomedical Therapeutic Trials in the United States
Research report examining geographic proximity to COVID-19 biomedical therapeutic trial sites, breaking down U.S. clinical trial data by rural/urban location, age, and race/ethnicity. Charts depict drive times to trial sites for each demographic group, comparing rural and urban populations.
Author(s): Rohan Khazanchi, Samuel D. Powers, Elizabeth T. Rogawski McQuade, Kathleen A. McManus
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine
Date: 09/2021
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Exploring the Role of Critical Health Literacy in Addressing the Social Determinants of Health
Brief reporting on a workshop held by the Roundtable on Health Literacy that explored Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and health literacy to serve vulnerable communities. Discusses SDOH models, research methods to engage communities, and critical health literacy. Project examples include work with rural Native American communities.
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 06/2021
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Minority Health and Health Disparities Strategic Plan 2021–2025
Planning document presenting goals to address health disparities through scientific research, activities that sustain research, and outreach efforts. Describes health disparity populations, including rural populations. Outlines plans to implement research projects and activities, and discusses Leap Forward priority areas that will advance research methods in minority health and health disparities.
Date: 03/2021
Sponsoring organizations: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), National Institutes of Health
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Preliminary Evaluation of Nonresponse Bias Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic on National Health Interview Survey Estimates, April-June 2020
Examines potential nonresponse bias for the National Health Interview Survey associated with a shift to telephone-only interviewing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Includes data on changes in response rates for metropolitan and nonmetro areas.
Author(s): James M. Dahlhamer, Matthew D. Bramlett, Aaron Maitland, Stephen J. Blumberg
Date: 02/2021
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Testing a Coaching Program to Help Adults with Diabetes Living in Rural Alabama Take Their Medicine as Directed
Presents a study of a medication adherence initiative in rural Alabama targeting predominantly African American adults with diabetes. Discusses research methods, community engagement and participation, data drawn from the study, and provides materials from the initiative in the appendix.
Author(s): Lynn J. Andreae, Susan J. Andreae, Andrea L. Cherrington, Joshua S. Richman, Monika M. Safford
Date: 2021
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Hearing Norton Sound: Community Involvement in the Design of a Mixed Methods Community Randomized Trial in 15 Alaska Native Communities
Describes a community-based research project examining a telemedicine cellphone-based screening process to improve early detection and treatment of childhood hearing loss in rural Alaska. Community stakeholders assisted in shaping the research question, measurable outcomes, and project procedures. Serves as a model for community-based research in rural communities.
Author(s): Samantha Kleindienst Robler, S. Meade Inglis, Joseph J. Gallo, et al.
Citation: Research Involvement and Engagement, 6(67)
Date: 11/2020
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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
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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
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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
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