Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
ADDRESS: 500 South Limestone, 109 Kinkead Hall, Lexington, KY 40526-0001 PROJECT DIRECTOR: Tyrone F. Borders, Ph.D. CONTACT PHONE NUMBER: 859-218-0108 EMAIL ADDRESS: ty.borders@uky.edu WEBSITE: https://ruhrc.uky.edu/ PROGRAM FUNDS REQUESTED: $3,050,000 OVERVIEW OF NEED AND POPULATIONS SERVED. The University of Kentucky (UK) Rural and Underserved Health Research Center (RUHRC) differentiates itself from other centers by concentrating its work on health care access and population health priorities among underserved rural areas and populations. Underserved rural areas and their populations face substantial economic and social challenges that impact rural health care systems, access to care, and population health. Many of these areas include large proportions of minority populations and the predominantly white but highly impoverished Appalachian region. Rural areas with limited economic, social, and health care resources have been prioritized by HRSA's National Advisory Committee on Rural Health and Human Services. Yet, relatively little research has focused on inequities of access among highly underserved areas and populations. PROPOSED SERVICES. The RUHRC will continue to expand the evidence base on timely and important health care access issues facing rural Americans overall, and especially those who are underserved, to improve the organization, financing, and delivery of health services. The RUHRC's Specific Aims Are: Aim 1. To produce original research findings that inform decisions about how to improve health care access and population health in rural America, especially among highly underserved rural areas and populations; Aim 2. To disseminate research findings and inform policy makers, health system managers, and practitioners about how to better facilitate access with the ultimate goal of reducing inequities in care and improving population health in rural communities. Related to these aims, the RUHRC's 4 major thematic areas pertain to pressing rural health care issues that our investigative team is uniquely qualified to investigate: 1) Rural Substance Use and Treatment Access, 2) Rural Mental Health and Treatment Access, 3) Primary Care Physicians and Rural Health Care Access, and 4) Contemporary Health Policies and Access Among Underserved Areas and Populations. To accomplish the proposed work, we have assembled a highly accomplished team of rural health services researchers with particular expertise in health management and policy, epidemiology, political science, biomedical informatics, health economics, pharmacy policy, and family medicine. The RUHRC will produce research findings that are national in scope by utilizing nationally representative insurance claims and survey data as well as restricted-access federal data available through the U.S. Census Bureau Research Data Center located on campus. Our long-standing collaboration with the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) further offers our team access to a registry of electronic health record data for over 5 million patients nationally and survey data from over 100,000 certified family physicians nationally. In summary, our Center will produce original findings to inform decisions about how to improve health care access and, ultimately, population health in rural America, especially rural areas with insufficient economic, social, and community infrastructures and scarce health care resources.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).
