This project will aim to understand how Rural Health Clinics perceive and implement evidence-based cancer screening and treatment and related intervention strategies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lead Researcher: Jan M. Eberth, PhD
Funded: September 2020
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2021
This project aims to explore urban-rural and regional differences in potential exposure to contaminated waters and/or polluted air. In addition to identifying such differences, we will explore potential covariates that help examine the observed spatial patterns.
Lead Researcher: Jan M. Eberth, PhD
Funded: September 2021
Anticipated Completion Date: August 2022
In both rural and urban areas, prior research has documented shortages of key healthcare facilities in areas where a significant proportion of the population identify as African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Hispanic, or as a member of another minoritized racial/ethnic group. This analysis will compare the likelihood that selected healthcare infrastructure elements, including hospitals, primary care services, long-term care, behavioral health services, and home health, are available within rural and urban ZIP Code Tabulation Areas that contain versus do not contain a high proportion of minoritized residents.
Lead Researcher: Jan M. Eberth, PhD
Funded: September 2020
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2021
Lead Researcher: Peiyin Hung, PhD
Funded: September 2019
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2021
Using a novel integration of spatial analysis, multi-level modeling, and difference-in-difference tests, we propose to 1) investigate whether safety-net providers were more likely to defray the demand for services due to their proximity to hospitals that closed and 2) quantify the impact of hospital closures on rural mortality rates. The proposal aims to fill gaps in prior work by providing national estimates of impacts of hospital closures for rural populations due to changes to potential demand for services as well as in changes in health outcomes. Our study findings will provide new information on the cascading effect of increasing transportation times, social and economic conditions, and reduced access to healthcare providers on population health outcomes within rural communities.
Lead Researcher: Nathaniel Bell, PhD
Funded: September 2019
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2021
This project will leverage growing collaborative efforts between the Rural and Minority Health Research Center (RMHRC), SC Office of Rural Health, SC Primary Health Care Association, and SC Center for Rural and Primary Healthcare to assess and improve cancer prevention and control among rural SC residents. The project will involve three phases: (1) planning and adapting; (2) pilot testing; and (3) evaluation focused on increasing use of evidence-based (EB) strategies to increase colorectal and/or cervical cancer screening and initiation of timely, appropriate follow-up care as applicable, among patients served at Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) in South Carolina. Throughout the project period, we will use a flexible, iterative, and adaptive approach to ensure our efforts maximize existing statewide efforts
Lead Researcher: Jan M. Eberth, PhD
Funded: September 2019
Anticipated Completion Date: December 2021
Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are events of abuse, neglect, and household dysfunction that occur between birth and 17 years of age. Multiple studies have established the association between ACEs and risky behaviors and poor physical and mental health outcomes in childhood and beyond. Rural and minority children often have higher rates of ACE exposure than their peers. Yet previous results on ACEs and rurality have shown mixed results due to differences in: 1) geographic coverage of studied datasets, 2) measurement of ACEs, and 3) sampling methodologies. Furthermore, examinations of intra-rural differences in ACEs among racial/ethnic groups, particularly among American Indian/Alaska Native populations, have been limited. The findings from this study will inform and improve prevention and intervention efforts for rural children in the U.S.
This project's aims include 1) ascertaining whether ACE and positive childhood experiences (PCE) exposure differs between rural and urban children by type and by count and whether rural exposures differ across U.S. census regions (Northeast, Midwest, South, West); 2) quantifying racial/ethnic disparities in ACE and PCE exposure across rural communities overall and across U.S. census regions; and 3) documenting the proportion of children with ACEs who lack PCE exposure and whether this differs across levels of rurality
Lead Researcher: Elizabeth Crouch, PhD
Funded: September 2020
Anticipated Completion Date: February 2022
Our goal is to evaluate rural-urban, racial/ethnic, and regional differences in access to care using a population-based survey through the following aims:
- To examine the rural-urban differences in affordability of health care overall and stratified by race/ethnicity.
- To assess the rural-urban differences in accommodation in health care overall and stratified by race/ethnicity.
- To determine the rural-urban differences in acceptability of health care overall and stratified by race/ethnicity.
Lead Researchers: Jan M. Eberth, PhD and Whitney Zahnd, PhD
Funded: September 2021
Anticipated Completion Date: August 2022
The purpose of this project is to document the recent trends of mental health care access and quality in urban and rural communities and to assess the intersectionality of residence rurality and race/ethnicity on disparities in mental health care access and quality.
Lead Researcher: Peiyin Hung, PhD
Funded: September 2021
Anticipated Completion Date: August 2022