Conducting Rural Health Research, Needs Assessment, and Program Evaluation – Resources

Evaluation of Respondent-Driven Sampling in Seven Studies of People Who Use Drugs from Rural Populations: Findings from the Rural Opioid Initiative
Examines the efficacy of respondent-driven sampling (RDS) to recruit people who use drugs (PWUD) in rural populations. Analyzes 7 Rural Opioid Initiative studies that occurred between 2018-2020 and performs statistical analyses to observe RDS-generated validity in population-level prevalence estimates.
Author(s): Abby E. Rudolph, Robin M. Nance, Georgiy Bobashev, et al.
Citation: BMC Medical Research Methodology, 24, 94
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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A Strategy To Support Perinatal Mental Health By Collaborating With Tribal Communities In Montana
Describes a community-based participatory approach with Montana tribal communities to create an online guide of mental health resources for prenatal to age three populations. Discusses the outcomes of collaboration, the Two-Eyed Seeing approach for health promotion, and opportunities for including cultural knowledge and values in future health promotion work.
Author(s): Amy Stiffarm, Stephanie Morton, Dawn Gunderson, et al.
Citation: Health Affairs, 43(4)
Date: 04/2024
Type: Document
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Reaching the Unheard: Overcoming Challenges in Health Research with Hard-to-Reach Populations
Analyzes strategies to engage hard-to-reach populations in health research. Discusses two case studies focused on specific issues in health research: breast cancer screening among rural and urban Mexican women in Illinois and mental health needs of Afghan refugees in Oklahoma. Provides reflection on issues such as cultural competency, language used in research, cultural identity and representation of research staff, choosing appropriate research sites, and more.
Author(s): Venera Bekteshi, Munjireen Sifat, Darla E. Kendzor
Citation: International Journal for Equity in Health, 23, 61
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Addressing Disparities In Research Informing Personalized Medicine: Recommendations from Underserved Communities: A Research Report
Offers 8 recommendations from representatives of underrepresented biomedical research (UBR) communities for engaging UBR communities in research. Recommendations cover empowering community engagement and the collection and use of health data. Discusses funding for rural health facilities.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Personalized Medicine Coalition
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Human Biomonitoring Without In-Person Interaction: Public Health Engagements During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Future Implications
Examines engagement approaches of biomonitoring and discusses the feasibility of utilizing non-contact methods for public health research. Analyzes distance-based approaches for research such as recruitment mailers, phone conversations, internet surveys, and self-collected and shipped samples. Includes reflections on non-contact methods to engage rural populations in research during the COVID-19 pandemic and in the future.
Author(s): Alyssa J. Mattson, Jiali Yu, Elizabeth M. Miller, et al.
Citation: BMC Medical Research Methodology, 24, 53
Date: 02/2024
Type: Document
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Evaluating Telehealth Services
Webinar recording offering an overview of the evaluating telehealth services process in the domains of access, logistics, experience, effectiveness, and equity using the Rural Telehealth and Healthcare System Readiness Measurement Framework from the National Quality Forum. Includes resources for facilities wanting to implement telehealth services in Oklahoma and nationally. Transcript included in video description.
Date: 02/2024
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organizations: Heartland Telehealth Resource Center, Oklahoma State University Center for Rural Health
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Sharing Your Success: Using Photovoice to Document and Communicate the Impact of Independent Living Services
Offers step by step guidelines and best practices for using Photovoice to share impact of a project or service. Includes relevant example release forms, tools, and links to rural example projects.
Author(s): Lillie Greiman, Rayna Sage
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Montana: Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities
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Digital Health Interventions for All? Examining Inclusivity Across All Stages of the Digital Health Intervention Research Process
Discusses the benefits of digital health interventions as well as the digital health divide that creates barriers to inclusive research processes. Highlights study design interventions during the recruitment, enrollment, engagement, efficacy/effectiveness, and retention stages that can contribute to inclusivity for underserved populations, including rural.
Author(s): Rebecca A. Krukowski, Kathryn M. Ross, Max J. Western, et al.
Citation: Trials, 25, 98
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
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Pre-Implementation Adaptation of Suicide Safety Planning Intervention Using Peer Support in Rural Areas
Using a community-based participatory research process, study aimed to identify adaptable components of a veteran-focused suicide intervention as well as barriers and facilitators for implementation in rural Arkansas using peer support. Includes discussion of the benefits of community input early in the research process.
Author(s): Eva N. Woodward, Amanda Lunsford, Rae Brown, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Health Services, 3
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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Addressing COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy in Rural Community Pharmacies: A Protocol for a Stepped Wedge Randomized Clinical Trial
Evaluates implementation strategies of rural-located pharmacies looking to address COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in their communities. Describes how the study will examine intervention fidelity, effectiveness, feasibility, acceptability, adoption, reach, and cost.
Author(s): Geoffrey Curran, Cynthia Mosley, Abigail Gamble, et al.
Citation: Implementation Science, 18, 72
Date: 12/2023
Type: Document
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