Maine Rural Health Research Center

Principal Investigator:

by David Hartley, Ph.D., MHA, Muskie School of Public Service

Maine Rural Health Research Center

The mission of the Maine Rural Health Research Center is to inform health care policymaking and improve 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. The Maine Rural Health Research Center is a funded Center of the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (HRSA), which provides core funding for eight national Rural Health Research Centers, each of whom conduct several individual projects each year within their areas of concentration.

The Maine Rural Health Research Center (the Center) was first funded by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (ORHP) in 1992. At the time, the Centers research agenda included the availability, organization and financing of rural behavioral health services; institutional and community-based services for rural elders; and changes in the organization and financing of rural health services. In addition to ORHP funded projects, the Centers portfolio has included projects on the patterns of health insurance/uninsurance, the rural safety net, and rural mental health services funded by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the National Institute of Mental Health.

In 2004, the Center was refunded by ORHP as one of eight Rural Health Research Centers. Building upon the Centers national reputation for rural mental health services research, the Centers current research area of concentration is behavioral health, emphasizing a population health approach to understanding the behavioral health needs of rural residents within the context of families, communities and systems.

The Center is currently conducting studies that will focus on the behavioral health needs of rural residents, the challenges rural providers and communities face in supplying mental health services, and the health of rural families in rural communities. Research will recognize that behavioral health needs vary dramatically by degree of rurality and region of the country.

The following three research projects are currently underway:

  1. The Impact of Mental and Emotional Stress on Rural Employment Patterns is a national, longitudinal study of workers that uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine how mental health problems affect rural job retention and length of time spent unemployed. The health and economic well-being of individual workers affects not only the worker and his/her family, but also the well-being and viability of the local community and its economy. The principal investigator is Lisa Morris, and the project director is Erika Ziller.
  2. National Study of Substance Abuse Prevalence and Treatment Services in Rural Areas uses the National Household Survey on Drug Use and Health and National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services to examine prevalence and consequences of substance use across rural regions and the distribution of treatment services. The study will identify national and regional policies to improve substance abuse services in rural areas and opportunities for future research. The Principal Investigator is David Hartley, Ph.D., and the project director is John Gale, MS. David Lambert, Ph.D. will assist in the development of the analysis plan, interpretation of findings, and preparation of the chart book and other project documents.
  3. Health Insurance Dynamics of Uninsured Rural Families uses the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey to identify insurance status of family members in households where one or more individuals are uninsured. Understanding the mix of coverage in rural families will assist federal and state policymakers in targeting health insurance expansions. The Co-Principal Investigators are Andy Coburn, Ph.D., and Erika Ziller, MS.

Research projects for the second year of the Center grant include:

Major audiences for the Center include federal, state, and local policymakers, state Offices of Rural Health, health services researchers, and rural health care providers. The Center also maintains a searchable database of current rural health services research conducted nationally. This database and its companion printed product, Rural Health Research in Progress, is funded by the Office of Rural Health Policy and is used to help inform national policymakers about issues that impact rural health services.

Staff involved in the Maine Rural Health Research Center include:

David Hartley, Ph.D., MHA (Director and Principal Investigator)
Andrew Coburn, Ph.D., (Deputy Director)
John Gale, MS
David Lambert, Ph.D.
Stephenie Loux, MS
Lisa Morris, Ph.D.
Karen Pearson, MLIS, MA
Nath Anderson, MS
Anush Yousefian, MS
Maureen Wissman
Jenny MacKenzie