How do researchers support rural health policy?
Rural health researchers focus their research on topics that highlight problems with the provision of health care in rural communities and identify recommendations that may influence public policy formulation. Findings from rural health research may help inform policymakers about issues that should be addressed and methods that may be particularly effective. Researchers may also be tasked with evaluating programs that the government has put in place to address an issue or problem. The federal government supports a number of rural research and policy analytic centers through the Office of Rural Health Policy’s Rural Health Research Centers program. For information about current rural health research projects, please see Rural Health Research Gateway.