Established in 1992


The Maine Rural Health Research Center draws on the multidisciplinary faculty and research resources and capacity of the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. The 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.

Projects

The Maine Rural Health Research Center focuses on barriers to health access for rural residents and related topics, including insurance coverage, Medicaid, behavioral health, long term services & supports, and challenges faced by rural providers (rural health clinics & critical access hospitals) in delivering and sustaining services.

Publications

For 30 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.

About the Center

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.

Latest Publications

Trends in Maternal Opioid Use Disorder and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome in Maine, 2016–2022

Excess Deaths Associated with COVID-19 by Rurality and Demographic Factors in the United States.

A Consensus Panel Approach to Estimating the Start-Up and Annual Service Costs for Rural Ambulance Agencies

Ambulance Deserts: Geographic Disparities in the Provision of Ambulance Services [Chartbook]

Federal telehealth policy changes during the COVID-19 public health emergency: Associations with telemental health use among rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries

Mental Health Within 24 Months After Delivery Among Women with Common Pregnancy Conditions

Provision of Postpartum Contraception before and after the Start of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Maine

Association of Prenatal Depression with New Cardiovascular Disease within 24 Months Postpartum

Engaging at-Risk Rural Residents in Secondary Lung Cancer Prevention

Rural Working-Age Adults Report More Cost Barriers to Health Care

Twenty-Five Years of the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program: The Past as Prologue

Urban-Rural and Socioeconomic Differences in Patient Knowledge and Perceptions of Genomic Tumor Testing  [with Data Supplement.]

Rural-Urban Differences in Workers’ Access to Paid Sick Leave

Rural-Urban Residence and Sequelae of Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy in the First Year Postpartum, 2007 – 2019

Maternal hepatitis C prevalence and trends by county, US: 2016–2020

Patterns of Health Care Use among Rural-Urban Medicare Beneficiaries Age 85 and Older, 2010-2017
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Community Characteristics and Financial and Operational Performance of Rural Health Clinics in the United States: A Chartbook

The Northern Border Region: A Health-Focused Landscape Analysis
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Maine: A Health-Focused Landscape Analysis
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Out-of-Hospital Births and Infant Mortality in the United States: Effect Measure Modification by Rural Maternal Residence

Rural-Urban Differences in Maternal Mortality Trends in the US, 1999-2017: Accounting for the Impact of the Pregnancy Status Checkbox
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