A Symposium on Rural Health and Health Policy organized by Dr. H. Daniel Xu has just been published by Journal of Health and Human Services Administration. The symposium features four papers that address the challenges in rural health and health services and examine programs and policies for these challenges, including state policy for opioid epidemic, infectious disease prevention and management (HIV & Hepatitis C), rural hospitals, and long-term care.
The contributors of the symposium include researchers and practitioners from University of Southern Maine, Texas State University, Texas Tech University, Central Michigan University, New Mexico State University, University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire, East Carolina University, and US Government Accountability Office.
In the article contributed by Dr. Xu and his co-author TK Wang, the study utilizes the data from the recent County Health Rankings and Definitive Healthcare to identify the health and health care disparities in rural counties and evaluate the operating and financial condition of rural hospitals in the context of the health care needs in rural communities and in comparison with urban hospitals. Their data analysis finds that while there are major health challenges and increased needs for hospital service in rural areas, the operating and financial performance of rural hospitals has been worsening in several key aspects. They argue that continued policy support as well as health system innovations will be critically important to address the health care needs of rural America. The symposium papers are available at https://jhhsa.spaef.org.