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

State Health Disparities Research in Rural America: Gaps and Future Directions in an Era of COVID-19
Discusses research methods and partnerships to address rural health differences. Highlights recommendations from a national workshop, including community participation in rural health research, innovative research design, interventions that are relevant to rural challenges, and understanding rural communities.
Author(s): Lisa Cacari Stone, Mary C. Roary, Augusto Diana, Patricia A. Grady
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 37(3), 460-466
Date: 04/2021
view details

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
view details

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
view details

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
view details

Population Health in Rural America in 2020: Proceedings of a Workshop
Presents the proceedings of the Population Health in Rural America 2020 workshop. Chapters examine rural demographics and social determinants of health, rural health and data challenges, rural and tribal healthcare, community health needs assessment, and rural health policy.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice
Date: 2021
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
view details

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
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

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

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

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