Maine Rural Health Research Center

The Maine Rural Health Research Center's mission is to inform health care policymaking and the delivery of rural health services through high quality, policy relevant research, policy analysis and technical assistance on rural health issues of regional and national significance. For the past 20 years, the Maine Rural Health Research Center’s research agenda has focused on some of the most intractable health access problems facing rural residents, especially those with mental health and substance abuse issues and those facing financial barriers due to lack of insurance and under-insurance. That body of research has helped reveal the effects of policy and health system organization and financing on rural health access. The Center is committed to enhancing policymaking and improving the access, delivery and financing of rural health services by effectively linking its research to the policy development process through appropriate dissemination strategies. The Center's core funding from the federal Office of Rural Health Policy is targeted to access to rural health services and behavioral health.

New Publications

• Talbot, J.A., Coburn, A.F., Ziller, E., & Croll, Z. (2013, forthcoming). Rural considerations in establishing network adequacy standards for qualified health plans in state health insurance exchanges. Journal of Rural Health.
• Hartley, D., & Yousefian, A.H. (2013, forthcoming). Engaging and empowering rural communities to build healthy environments: Field testing the Rural Active Living Assessment tools. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Undeserved,(Advancing Obesity Prevention supplement).
• Pearson, K.B., & Coburn, A.F. (2013, January). Emergency transfers of the elderly from nursing facilities to Critical Access Hospitals: Opportunities for improving patient safety and quality. (Policy Brief #32). Portland, ME: Flex Monitoring Team.
• Ziller, E.C., Lenardson, J.D., & Coburn, A.F. (2012). Health care access and use among the rural uninsured. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 23(3), 1327-1345.
• Nudell, M., Bouthillet, T., Rice, D., Wingrove, G., Cole, D., & Gale, J.A. (2013). Rural acute myocardial infarction survey (RAMIS). International Paramedic Practice, 2(1), 169-175.
• Umstattd, M.R., Baller, S.L., Hennessy, E., Hartley, D., Economos, C.D., Hyatt, R.R. (2012). Development of the Rural Active Living Perceived Environmental Support Scale (RALPESS). J Phys Act Health, 9(5), 724-30.
• Coburn, A.F., Ziller, E.C., Croll, Z., & Kilbreth, E. (2012, May). Rural implications of geographic rating of health insurance premiums. (Issue Brief). Minneapolis, MN: State Health Access Reform Evaluation Program, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• Croll, Z.T., Coburn, A.F., & Pearson, K.B. (2012, April). Promoting a culture of safety: Use of the Hospital Survey On Patient Safety Culture in Critical Access Hospitals. (Briefing Paper No. 30). Portland, ME: Flex Monitoring Team. Policy Brief.

Recent Presentations

Recent Presentations at the 2012 National Rural Health Association Annual Meeting

• Adolescent Alcohol Use: Do Risk and Protective Factors Explain Rural-Urban Differences? Hartley, D.
• Factors Influencing the Provision of Skilled Nursing Services by Critical Access Hospitals. [Poster presentation] Coburn, A., Gale, J., & Croll, Z.
• Health Insurance Stability Among Rural Children: Impact of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Ziller, E.
• Linking Community Assessment and Community Benefit Strategies. Gale, J.
• Rural Implications of Geographic Rating of Health Insurance Premiums. Coburn, A., Ziller, E., Croll, Z., & Kilbreth, E.
• Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) at the Crossroad. Gale, J.
• Rural Telemental Health Programs: Models That Enhance Access and Service Delivery. Lambert, D., Gale, J., Croll, Z., & Hansen, A.
• SAFER: Standardizing Admissions for Elderly Residents. Coburn, A., Tupper, J., Gray, C., & Pearson, K.
• Supporting Regional Systems of STEMI Care. Gale, J.