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.
35 Years of Partnership to Advance Cardiovascular Health and Well-Being in American Indian Communities: The Strong Heart Study and Strong Heart Family Study
Discusses the impact of the Strong Heart Study (SHS) and Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS) to provide population health and cardiovascular health outcomes information on rural tribal communities. Focuses on the importance of longitudinal studies, rigorous data collection, knowledge sharing, and partnerships.
Author(s): Amanda M. Fretts, Jessica A. Reese, Ying Zhang
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 07/2025
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Discusses the impact of the Strong Heart Study (SHS) and Strong Heart Family Study (SHFS) to provide population health and cardiovascular health outcomes information on rural tribal communities. Focuses on the importance of longitudinal studies, rigorous data collection, knowledge sharing, and partnerships.
Author(s): Amanda M. Fretts, Jessica A. Reese, Ying Zhang
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 07/2025
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Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, July-December 2024
Provides data on households that rely on wireless telephones rather than landlines. Includes data on the percent of adults who live in wireless-only households and have their own wireless telephone, as well as data on phoneless adults. Provides data for nonmetropolitan compared to metropolitan areas. Discusses the need for surveys to include adequate representation of wireless-only households and households with landlines.
Author(s): Stephen J. Blumberg, Julian V. Luke
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Provides data on households that rely on wireless telephones rather than landlines. Includes data on the percent of adults who live in wireless-only households and have their own wireless telephone, as well as data on phoneless adults. Provides data for nonmetropolitan compared to metropolitan areas. Discusses the need for surveys to include adequate representation of wireless-only households and households with landlines.
Author(s): Stephen J. Blumberg, Julian V. Luke
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Rural Dissemination: Bridging Research and Practice for Aging and Disability Services
A recorded webcast that discusses strategies to ensure aging and disability research reaches hard-to-reach and rural areas. Provides examples of rural research, dissemination methods, and collaborative efforts.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript, Webcast
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center on Knowledge Translation for Disability and Rehabilitation Research
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A recorded webcast that discusses strategies to ensure aging and disability research reaches hard-to-reach and rural areas. Provides examples of rural research, dissemination methods, and collaborative efforts.
Additional links: Presentation Slides, Transcript, Webcast
Date: 05/2025
Sponsoring organization: Center on Knowledge Translation for Disability and Rehabilitation Research
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Initiating Research in Indian Country: Lessons From the Strong Heart Study
Discusses the process of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) initiating studies to examine cardiovascular disease in rural and remote areas, isolated populations, and sovereign nations. Discusses the steps in conducting research with a focus on building trust, transparent implementation, and mutual feedback and results sharing.
Author(s): Barbara V. Howard, Elisa T. Lee, Thomas K. Welty, Richard R. Fabsitz
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 04/2025
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Discusses the process of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) initiating studies to examine cardiovascular disease in rural and remote areas, isolated populations, and sovereign nations. Discusses the steps in conducting research with a focus on building trust, transparent implementation, and mutual feedback and results sharing.
Author(s): Barbara V. Howard, Elisa T. Lee, Thomas K. Welty, Richard R. Fabsitz
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 22
Date: 04/2025
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An Updated Model of Rural Hospital Financial Distress
Discusses a potential model to predict financial distress in rural hospitals, including negative cash flow margin, negative equity, or closure of facility. Tests 2,311 rural hospitals from 2013 to 2019 with the model and discusses its potential to predict financial distress and create accurate assessments.
Author(s): Tyler L. Malone, George H. Pink, George M. Holmes
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2)
Date: 2025
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Discusses a potential model to predict financial distress in rural hospitals, including negative cash flow margin, negative equity, or closure of facility. Tests 2,311 rural hospitals from 2013 to 2019 with the model and discusses its potential to predict financial distress and create accurate assessments.
Author(s): Tyler L. Malone, George H. Pink, George M. Holmes
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2)
Date: 2025
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Braiding Research Approaches to Understand Home Visiting in Indigenous Communities
Provides a scoping review, research questions, and feedback from practitioners regarding Indigenous home visiting programs and Indigenous methodologies in home visiting research. Includes suggestions for research methodologies that incorporate cultural awareness and relationships in Indigenous communities.
Author(s): Natalie Moyer, Chelsea Wesner, Michelle Sarche, et al.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, The Center for Indigenous Research Collaboration and Learning for Home Visiting
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Provides a scoping review, research questions, and feedback from practitioners regarding Indigenous home visiting programs and Indigenous methodologies in home visiting research. Includes suggestions for research methodologies that incorporate cultural awareness and relationships in Indigenous communities.
Author(s): Natalie Moyer, Chelsea Wesner, Michelle Sarche, et al.
Date: 12/2024
Sponsoring organizations: Administration for Children and Families, The Center for Indigenous Research Collaboration and Learning for Home Visiting
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The Development of the Agricultural Producer Barriers to Care Scale (APBCS)
Examines the reliability of the the Agricultural Producer Barriers to Care Scale (APBCS) as an instrument that tests for healthcare access barriers in rural U.S. farmers. Analyzes online survey data from 1,045 respondents across APBCS factors such as formal healthcare challenges, cultural barriers to seeking help, issues with stigma, and evidence of resilience. Discusses potential improvements to the APBCS tool.
Author(s): Noah Hopkins, Chase Reece, Nathan Hansen, Christina Proctor
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12898
Date: 12/2024
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Examines the reliability of the the Agricultural Producer Barriers to Care Scale (APBCS) as an instrument that tests for healthcare access barriers in rural U.S. farmers. Analyzes online survey data from 1,045 respondents across APBCS factors such as formal healthcare challenges, cultural barriers to seeking help, issues with stigma, and evidence of resilience. Discusses potential improvements to the APBCS tool.
Author(s): Noah Hopkins, Chase Reece, Nathan Hansen, Christina Proctor
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(1), e12898
Date: 12/2024
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The Impact of Internet Connectivity When Conducting a Virtual Clinical Trial with Participants Living in Rural Areas
Evaluates the effectiveness of virtual randomized clinical trials for research involving rural family caregivers. Analyzes notes across 1,003 visits with research participants in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin to identify internet reliability issues and impact on the research. Discusses internet access a social determinant of health.
Author(s): Diane E. Holland, Catherine E. Vanderboom, Jay Mandrekar, et al.
Citation: Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 42, 101366
Date: 12/2024
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Evaluates the effectiveness of virtual randomized clinical trials for research involving rural family caregivers. Analyzes notes across 1,003 visits with research participants in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin to identify internet reliability issues and impact on the research. Discusses internet access a social determinant of health.
Author(s): Diane E. Holland, Catherine E. Vanderboom, Jay Mandrekar, et al.
Citation: Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 42, 101366
Date: 12/2024
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Tracking Implementation Strategies in Real-World Settings: VA Office of Rural Health Enterprise-Wide Initiative Portfolio
Examines implementation strategies of rural health innovations utilizing the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Utilizes 2020-2022 annual reports from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Rural Health (ORH) to analyze 875 implementation strategies. Provides descriptive statistics on strategies utilized, including those focused on rurality benchmarks, and discusses utility of using annual reports to evaluate success of rural health innovations.
Author(s): Heather Schacht Reisinger, Sheila Barron, Erin Balkenende, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 59(S2), e14377
Date: 12/2024
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Examines implementation strategies of rural health innovations utilizing the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. Utilizes 2020-2022 annual reports from the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Rural Health (ORH) to analyze 875 implementation strategies. Provides descriptive statistics on strategies utilized, including those focused on rurality benchmarks, and discusses utility of using annual reports to evaluate success of rural health innovations.
Author(s): Heather Schacht Reisinger, Sheila Barron, Erin Balkenende, et al.
Citation: Health Services Research, 59(S2), e14377
Date: 12/2024
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Tribal Epidemiology Centers: Strengthening American Indian and Alaska Native Public Health through Data, Collaboration, and Innovation
Provides an overview of tribal epidemiology centers (TECs), focusing on their impact on the availability and quality of public health surveillance data for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Discusses challenges with collecting data for this population and strategies TECs are using to address these issues. Offers examples of public health best practices from TECs related to cancer, behavioral health, substance use, infectious diseases, and more.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Tribal Epidemiology Centers
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Provides an overview of tribal epidemiology centers (TECs), focusing on their impact on the availability and quality of public health surveillance data for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. Discusses challenges with collecting data for this population and strategies TECs are using to address these issues. Offers examples of public health best practices from TECs related to cancer, behavioral health, substance use, infectious diseases, and more.
Date: 11/2024
Sponsoring organization: Tribal Epidemiology Centers
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Additional resources are available related to this guide. See the full list of resources by topic for:
- Evaluation methods and resources
- Needs assessment methods and resources
- Research methods and resources
Last Updated: 7/11/2025