Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard

Publications

Future Role of Community Health Workers for Reducing Health Disparities (pdf) – Against the backdrop of national health care reform and Kentucky’s physician shortage, this study examined the impact of community health workers (specifically, Kentucky Homeplace) on health disparities in rural, medically underserved areas. Among the conclusions are that community health workers can increase the ability of indigent residents to access health care services and their compliance with physicians’ orders. (Presented at the AAMC’s Physician Workforce Research Conference, May 5-6, 2011, in National Harbor, Md.; and the Kentucky Rural Health Association’s 13th Annual Conference, July 21-22, 2011, in Bowling Green).

The Relationship Between Educational Attainment and Lung Cancer Mortality in Kentucky: Implications for Nurses (external link) – This study analyzed predictors of lung cancer mortality within Kentucky, which has a significantly higher rate of lung cancer-related death than the national average. In the context of similar adult smoking rates between the state’s Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties, high school graduation rates showed the strongest statistical association with lung cancer mortality. These findings suggest practice and policy implications for nurses in Kentucky and, potentially, other states with low educational attainment and high lung cancer mortality. The study was published in the Fall 2010 issue of the Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care.

Policy Analysis: Is There a Relationship Between Required Physical Education in Lower Grades and Adolescent Obesity Rates? A Kentucky Case Study. (pdf) – Childhood obesity has emerged as a national epidemic − and one with serious short- and long-term personal health, medical system and economic consequences. The prevalence of obesity more than doubled among U.S. children ages 6 to 11 between 1980 and 2006, while the rate for those from ages 12 to 19 more than tripled. This study analyzes whether required physical education in elementary and/or middle school is associated with lower rates of obesity among U.S. high school students, with an emphasis on those living in Kentucky. (Presented at the National Rural Health Association’s 33rd Annual Rural Health Conference, May 18-21, 2010, in Savannah, Ga.)

Addressing Cervical Cancer in Central Appalachia (pdf) – Rural women, particularly those residing in Appalachia, have some of the nation’s highest cervical cancer mortality rates. With support from federal and private grants, the University of Kentucky Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard is attempting to address this issue. Eastern Kentucky-based researchers are surveying 18- to 26-year-old female community health center patients and college students about their risk factors for the disease, and then offering them free Gardasil, a vaccine against the virus that causes most cervical cancer cases.

The Association of Lung Cancer Mortality with Income and Education in Kentucky Counties (pdf) – Lung cancer, the primary cause of cancer death in the United States, is particularly problematic in Kentucky, which has the nation’s highest rate of adult smokers. In fact, each Kentucky county exceeds the national rate for per capita lung cancer deaths. This project analyzes the relationships between lung cancer deaths, high school graduation rates, per capita personal income and adult smoking – and whether statistically significant differences exist among the variables between Kentucky’s Appalachian and non-Appalachian counties.

Southeastern Kentucky Physician Assistant Needs Assessment (pdf) is the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard’s most recent health care workforce study. It examines the distribution of physician assistants in Kentucky, revealing that Eastern Kentucky has a 26 percent undersupply relative to the state average and a 43 percent shortage compared to the national per capita rate. The report also surveys Eastern Kentucky health care providers’ anticipated short-term need for the mid-level practitioners and establishes that a sufficient applicant pool exists to support placement of a regional physician assistant campus within the region.

Physician Workforce in United States (pdf) – Rural community and migrant health centers face major problems in attracting and retaining physicians. This presentation addresses that issue by projecting health services demands, physician specialty distribution and physician supply, as well as suggesting methods for increasing physician supply and reducing consumer demand.

The Impact of Poor Health on Businesses (pdf) – County-level data is becoming increasingly important for rural health planning. This presentation analyzes the health of several northern Kentucky counties and the potential consequences for the region’s employers.

The Kentucky Health Insurance Research Project (PowerPoint) The project is to determine who Kentucky’s uninsured are, how long they have been uninsured, why they are uninsured, and how best to address their needs.

Nurse Anesthetists in Southeastern Kentucky: A Survey of Supply Versus Demand (pdf) examines the geographic maldistribution of nurse anesthetists in Kentucky and the status of their positions and vacancies at all 19 hospitals in the southeastern part of the state. UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard researchers found that southeastern Kentucky has 12.5 percent of Kentucky’s total population and performs 11.5 percent of the state’s total surgeries - but has only 6.5 percent of the state’s total resident nurse anesthetists.

The Center’s research division recently completed analysis of more than 3000 diabetes surveys that were administered to Kentucky Homeplace clients in five rural regions of the state. The results have been compiled in a new research note, Kentucky Homeplace Defeat Diabetes Screening Test: An Analysis of Rural Kentucky’s Challenge to Overcome the Growing Diabetes Epidemic (pdf). The findings were published in the July 2005 Journal of the Kentucky Medical Association.

Rural Kentucky’s Physician Shortage: Strategies for Producing, Recruiting and Retaining Primary Care Providers within a Medically Underserved Area (pdf) examines the inadequate supply of doctors in outlying regions of the Commonwealth. Through literature review, data analysis, personal interviews and other research methods, the UK Center for Excellence in Rural Health-Hazard study concluded that Kentucky needs an additional 600 primary care physicians in order to adequately meet the health care needs of its residents. The findings appear in the October 2005 Journal of the Kentucky Medical Association.