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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Research methods and resources

Photovoice Reveals Residents' Concerns for Air and Water Quality in Industry-Impacted Rural Community
Provides results of utilizing the photovoice method to assess how a predominantly Black community in rural North Carolina perceives their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Discusses issues such as environmental justice, the impact of landfill and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) on population health, and the benefits of using photovoice to research environmental health in underserved areas.
Author(s): Shelby M. Rimmler, Sarah Shaughnessy, Ellis Tatum, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(9), 5656
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
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Assessing the Accuracy of California County Level COVID-19 Hospitalization Forecasts to Inform Public Policy Decision Making
Evaluates model performance and accuracy regarding the forecasting of infectious diseases by retroactively examining COVID-19 forecasting in California counties. Utilizes archived forecasts from the California Department of Public Health's California COVID Assessment Tool to analyze the accuracy of forecasts referenced with actual COVID-19 hospitalization. Discusses issues related to model accuracy, such as local transmission trends, variant prevalence, and county population size, and how accurate forecasting is important for public health planning and policy.
Author(s): Lauren A. White, Ryan McCorvie, David Crow, Seema Jain, Tomás M. León
Citation: BMC Public Health 23, 782
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
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Why the Federal Government Needs to Change How It Collects Data on Native Americans
Describes how the federal government collects data on race and ethnicity and resulting inaccuracies that impact data on American Indian and Alaska Native people. Identifies a number of issues related to race and ethnicity data, including how information on multiracial individuals is looked at and potential changes to how Hispanic identity will be considered. Discusses policy and research implications and offers recommendations for data collection.
Author(s): Robert Maxim, Gabriel R. Sanchez, Kimberly R. Huyser
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Brookings Institution
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American Indian and Alaska Native Worker Safety and Health Strategic Plan
Highlights a strategic plan for researching occupational safety and health of American Indian and Alaska Native workers. Provides a step-by-step guide for conducting and disseminating research on the health and safety risks of AI/AN workers, as well as crafting safety policy for tribal communities.
Author(s): Elizabeth Dalsey, Robert Foley, Sarah Hatcher, et al.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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Building Rural Primary Care Research by Connecting Rural Programs
Provides an overview of a program meant to connect rural medical education programs with a community of practice that conducts successful research and engages in scholarly activity. Discusses the impact of the Scholarly Intensive for Rural Programs event that took place in January 2022 that offered support for professional development, academic communities, and scholarship in rural health professions education programs.
Author(s): David F. Schmitz, Sharon Casapulla, Davis G. Patterson, Randall Longenecker
Citation: The Annals of Family Medicine February, 21(Suppl 2), S82-S83
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
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Improving the Representativeness of the Tribal Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Through Data Integration
Examines the effectiveness of utilizing data integration methods to improve representation of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations in the Tribal Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (TBRFSS). Provides comparisons of data before and after selected data integration methods and discusses the usefulness of calibration and sequential mass imputation as methods to improve representation.
Author(s): Sixia Chen, Janis Campbell, Erin Spain, Alexandra Woodruff, Cuyler Snider
Citation: BMC Public Health, 23, 273
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
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COVID-19 Related Protocol Considerations and Modifications within a Rural, Community-Engaged Health Promotion Randomized Trial
Examines data collection protocol modifications in the Change Club (CC) intervention which aims to improve civic engagement and built environment factors related to obesity and other chronic disease disparities. Analyzes 12 rural communities engaged in the CC intervention and discusses the subsequent measurements to observe intervention impacts, which were adjusted from onsite to self-reported due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Analyzes data collection protocols that can establish both rigor and feasibility in rural health research.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler, Galen D. Eldridge, Meredith Graham, et al.
Citation: Methods and Protocols, 6(1), 5
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Assessing the Use of Constructs from the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research in U.S. Rural Cancer Screening Promotion Programs: A Systematic Search and Scoping Review
Reports on a literature review examining the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) domains and constructs in rural cancer screening promotion programs. Explains the 5 CFIR domains of intervention, inner setting, outer setting, individuals, and process that influence the success of implementing interventions. Discusses 15 studies that examine how CFIR is used and reflects on how cancer screening promotion programs can be improved in rural areas.
Author(s): Jennifer L. Moss, Kelsey C. Stoltzfus, Madyson L. Popalis, William A. Calo, Jennifer L. Kraschnewski
Citation: BMC Health Services Research, 23, 48
Date: 01/2023
Type: Document
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Assessing the 2020 Census: Final Report
Evaluates the quality of the 2020 Census, highlights successful innovations, describes the impact of COVID-19, and offers recommendations for planning and carrying out the 2030 Census. Describes data quality concerns, particularly for areas with high concentration of American Indian and Alaska Native populations among other races and ethnicities. Discusses the challenge of balancing the need for accurate data with the privacy concerns of small areas and population groups.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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An Updated Measure of Poverty: (Re)Drawing the Line
Examines the strengths and weaknesses of the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) and makes recommendations to update it to better reflect the resources available to households. Includes discussion of geographic variation in the cost of living in metropolitan versus nonmetro areas and the potential for a finer level of detail to reveal variations for expenses like housing and transportation.
Additional links: Read Online
Date: 2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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