Key Takeaways

Gregory Kirk, Vice Dean for Research & Professor of Epidemiology in the School of Public Health, Vanya Jones, Assistant Dean for Community Engaged Research & Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society, facilitates a brainstorming and networking session focused on Rural Health Initiatives at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and beyond.  

Current Work Being Done

• Perinatal Safety Toolkit (AHRQ) – Developed from work in rural hospitals in Oklahoma and Texas. Though not branded as rural, the work was largely conducted in rural settings and led by Dr. Lilly Engineer and based on earlier work from 2003-2009 involving ~1,100 rural hospitals. Toolkit is available on the AHRQ website. 2003-2009 hospital study focused on viability, clinical outcomes, and policy implications.

• Rural Healthcare Transformation Program (Chestertown, MD) – Focused on older adults (nearly 50% of the population is 50+) and led by Hopkins graduate and supported by University of Maryland Shore Regional Health. Includes partnerships with local nonprofits like Homeports.

• Farms Stress Management Program (University of Maryland Extension) – Addresses mental health, stress, and suicide prevention among farmers and rural older adults.

• Transforming Maternal Health Grant (Kansas) – A 10-year initiative to improve maternity care access and coordination in rural areas. Kansas is one of 14 states selected for this federally supported program.

• Independent Rural Pharmacy and Clinic (Preston, Georgia) – Operated by a current MPH student, serving 15,000 patients across 14 counties. Focuses on medication access, food security, and primary care in a medically underserved area.

• Center for Indigenous Health (Johns Hopkins) – Conducts extensive work in rural and tribal communities. Interested in expanding partnerships and practicum opportunities for students.

• Johns Hopkins offers a Coursera specialization widely used by rural and international learners.

• DrPH Program: Online format enables rural hospital leaders to participate and receive training.

Potential Opportunities in Rural Areas

• Maryland Clinical Research Network and Allegheny Health Research Network were mentioned as infrastructure for rural collaborative research.

• University extension programs are partners for community outreach in rural areas.

• Viability and Outcomes of Rural Hospitals: A follow-up study to previous large-scale research (e.g., 2003-2009 project with ~ 1,100 hospitals) to assess clinical and financial outcomes of rural hospitals today.

• Maternal and Child Health: Especially leveraging the Transforming Mental Health grant across 14 states. Offers scope for program evaluation, replication studies, and policy analysis.

• Food Access & Nutrition: Even in agricultural areas, food insecurity is high. Research into sustainable food access models in areas like South Georgia.

• Training Local Providers: Develop certificate programs (e.g., “Rural Hospital Leadership and Management”) for staff retention & online DrPH and Coursera courses tailored to rural public health issues.

• Practicum and Residency Programs: Expand student training/rotation opportunities in rural hospitals or clinics. Strengthen ties with Tribal Health Organizations and Indian Health Services (IHC) for field placements.

• Pipeline Programs: Recruit and train students from rural communities to return as public health professionals (e.g., support schools like Andrew College with public health programs).

• Mentorship Models: Pairing experienced rural researchers with newcomers to avoid cultural missteps and build trust in small communities.

• Collaborative Consortia: Establish a Johns Hopkins-led Rural Health Consortium with regional or national partners to coordinate research, training, and innovation.

• Seed Funding Programs: Prioritize new collaborations and partnerships not previously engaged by Hopkins. Focus on areas with minimal data or infrastructure to encourage innovation.

• Hospital Sustainability: Policy research into state-level decisions around critical access hospitals and Medicare-dependent facilities.

• Health Workforce Innovation: Explore alternative models for staffing rural hospitals, especially where residency programs are absent. Also investigate impacts of venture capital and health system consolidations on rural care quality.

• Digital Health & Telemedicine: Leverage digital solutions to bridge gaps in care access, with potential funding and implementation opportunities.

• Global-to-Local Adaptation: Translate lessons from global rural health work (e.g., rural Uganda) to U.S. settings like Oklahoma, Kentucky, Georgia.

• Baltimore Model Application: Apply community engagement and partnership frameworks used in Baltimore to rural U.S. contexts.

Suggestions about Courses/Teaching

• Certificates in Rural Health Leadership: Developing certificates in rural hospital management or leadership, targeting current rural hospital CEOs or administrators.

• Practicum and Rotations in Rural Areas: Expand practicum placements and clinical rotations in rural U.S. settings (similar to global or urban health rotations).

• Courses or Concentrations in Rural Health: Create a rural health concentration or track within existing MPH or DrPH programs.

• Modules on Tribal Health and HIS Systems: Incorporate content on working with the Indian Health Service (HIS) and tribal health systems into the curriculum.

• Partner with rural institutions to co-develop and co-teach courses, either synchronously online or through hybrid format.

Next Steps/Working Group Suggestions

• Will compile a list of attendees and their areas of expertise, projects currently underway, and key themes, challenges, and suggestions from the discussion.

• Will share notes, ideas, and chat content with participants to maintain momentum.

• Create focused groups to dig deeper into thematic or geographical topics.

• Consider working groups that host external speakers or partners to build visibility and collaboration.

• Advocate for seed funding that will support new partnerships, catalyze early-state rural health projects, and enable bidirectional mentorship between experienced and new rural health researchers.

• Identify current collaborations with U.S.-based rural institutions, tribal and indigenous health organizations, and international rural settings.

• Highlight extension services and state-level offices of rural health.

• Organizer events around key topics (e.g., global-to-domestic translation, maternal health, rural hospital viability).

• Working Group Suggestions:

Recording

Grants360: Rural Health

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