Research

The Center is engaged in the development or conduct of a broad range of research activities, collaborating with researchers from within the College of Medicine and across the FSU campus. Research areas all focus on improving or understanding complex health-related challenges facing rural communities. Projects since the Center’s inception have included but are not limited to:

  • Conducting an assessment of information technology in rural hospitals (2003) that formed the basis for the implementation of a demonstration project that used mobile IT in a rural hospital.
  • Conducting an assessment of bioterrorism training needs of Community Health Centers (2004) in Florida, many of which are in rural communities, that led to the development and delivery of training programs for administrative, clinical, and non-clinical staff.
  • Conducting a series of five Town Hall meetings (2009) across the state to solicit input from rural providers and consumers into the Rural Health Plan Update for the Florida Office of Rural Health. Read the full report [pdf].
  • Leading community needs assessment activities on behalf of the Havana Health and Wellness Center.
  • Partnering with Texas A&M University School of Rural Public Health in the development of Rural Healthy People 2020, identifying priority health objectives for Rural America, and rural best practices for achieving those objectives.
  • Partnering with Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare Transition Center to describe the health literacy profile of their patient population in order to improve quality of care and self-care.

The following represent a few of the articles published by scholars associated with the Center:

  1. Bellamy G, Bolin JN, Gamm LD. (March 2011) Rural Healthy People 2010, 2020, and beyond:  The need goes on. Family & Community Health. 2011;34(2).
  2. Saunders C, Bellamy G, Menachemi N, Chukmaitov AS, Brooks RG. (Spring 2009) Bypassing the Local Rural Hospital for Outpatient Procedures. The Journal of Rural Health, Volume 25, Issue 2, Pages: 174-181.
  3. Ruddick P, Hannah K, Schade CP, Bellamy G, Brehm J, and Lomely D. (2008) Using RCA to Reduce Falls in Rural Health Care Facilities. Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches. Volume 1, AHRQ Publication Nos. 08-0034 (1-4). July 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
  4. Schade, CS, Ruddick, P, Lomely, D, and Bellamy G. (July 2008) Voluntary Adverse Event Reporting in Rural Hospitals. Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches. Volume 1, AHRQ Publication Nos. 08-0034 (1-4). July 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
  5. Hannah KL, Schade C, Lomely D, Ruddick P, Bellamy G. (July 2008) Hospital Administrative Staff vs. Nursing Staff Responses to the AHRQ Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture. Advances in Patient Safety: New Directions and Alternative Approaches. Volume 2, AHRQ Publication Nos. 08-0034 (1-4). July 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/downloads/pub/advances2/vol2/Advances-Hannah_23.pdf.
  6. Liu J and Bellamy G. (2008) Bypass of Local Primary Care in Rural Counties: Effect of Patient and Community Characteristics. Annals of Family Medicine, 6:124-130.
  7. Gunderson A, Menachemi N, Brummel-Smith K, Brooks RG (Summer 2006) Physicians Who Treat the Elderly in Rural Florida: Trends Indicating Concerns Regarding Access to Care. The Journal of Rural Health, Volume 22, Issue 3: 224-228
  8. Menachemi N, Burke D, Clawson A, Brooks RG (June 2005) Information Technologies in Florida's Rural Hospitals: Does System Affiliation Matter? The Journal of Rural Health, Volume 21, Issue 3: 263-268
  9. Menachemi N, Stine C, Clawson A, Brooks RG (2005) The changing face of access to family physician services in rural Florida. Family Medicine. Volume 37(1):54-58.
  10. Warner A, Menachemi N, Brooks RG (March 2005) Information Technologies Relevant to Pharmacy Practice in Hospitals: Results of a Statewide Survey. Hospital Pharmacy, Volume 40(3):233-239.

Select Presentations: 

  • University of Florida, College of Public Health and Health Professions, Morrill Celebration. Invited panelist. “Land Grant Colleges and Rural Health: The Legacy of the Morrill and Smith Lever Acts,” Gainesville, FL, February 15, 2013.
  • NRHA 24th Annual Policy Institute, Invited plenary presentation, Meeting Rural Healthy People Needs, Washington, DC, February 4, 2013
  • NRHA Multiracial and Multicultural Conference, Invited plenary presentation, Rural Healthy People 2020: New Rural Health Priorities and Strategies Identified Through the National RHP 2020 Survey, Asheville, NC, December 2012
  • APHA 140th Annual Conference, Rural Healthy People 2010, 2020, and Beyond: The Needs Goes On. Denver, CO, October 2011
  • Diabetes Forum, Invited plenary presentation, Health Literacy, Tallahassee, FL, September 2011
  • Health Literacy in Diverse Populations. National Rural Health Association Minority and Multicultural Conference, Tucson, AZ. December 2010.
  • Emergency Department Visits: Health Reform’s Canary? Poster Presentation. American Public Health Association Annual Conference. Denver, CO. November 6, 2010.