RURAL HEALTH RESEARCH STUDY HRSA Rural Health Research: HRSA Grants for Policy-Oriented Rural Health Services Research – Preventive Care: Supports and Barrier to Best Practices for a National Sample of Rural Medicare Beneficiaries Using an integrative approach, including secondary data analysis of a large nationally representative dataset (the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey, or MCBS, n=14,000), and complementary qualitative interviews with rural elders, this HRSA-funded research study aims for a more complete understanding of the factors influencing rural elders’ receipt of “gold standard” health care screenings and vaccinations. The analytic framework for the study is based on a widely-used theoretical model of health care access and utilization for disadvantaged populations (the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations), which links factors of vulnerability with use of health care services. The study’s primary purposes are to 1) Describe utilization of best practice preventive health care screenings and vaccinations among a national rural sample of Medicare beneficiaries, as compared to urban elders; 2) Identify individual level factors associated with utilization of these practices; and 3) Explore community and health system factors which impede or facilitate the utilization of best practice screenings and vaccinations among rural elders. Statistical analyses include propensity scoring, Logistic Regression, and Ordinary Least Squares Regression, with weighted data. With screening rates well below the goals set forth in Healthy People 2010, study findings will inform policymakers, health planners, researchers, and health care providers at all levels to encourage and promote healthier lifestyles for rural elders. A policy brief and working paper, as well as conference presentations, will help disseminate findings to a national audience.
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