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VA Health Systems Research

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Rural Health

More than a third of Veterans enrolled in VA care live in rural areas, and a small but significant percentage of them are “highly rural”: from counties with fewer than seven people per square mile. While they typically live a considerable distance from available healthcare resources, rural Veterans are also more likely to need these resources: they’re slightly older than urban Veterans overall, and 15 years older, on average, than other rural Americans. They also tend to be medically complex, with higher rates of chronic conditions requiring frequent, ongoing care and services.

VA has identified rural Veterans as an underserved population, and established the explicit goal of increasing healthcare access for rural Veterans. HSR researchers work to better understand the healthcare needs of rural Veterans, and the most effective ways to address them. Areas of research focus include the development and evaluation of solutions such as virtual care, mobile medical units, social work outreach, transportation, and collaborative or community care programs.

Each section below is populated by a search of the HSR website. Search results are generated based on the search term "Rural" . Results are updated as new data are available.

VIEW: Citations | Publication Briefs | Studies | HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters | Cyberseminars | Videos | Podcasts | Other Resources



Citations

(recent RURAL publications)



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Publication Briefs

(recent RURAL Publication Briefs )



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Studies

(recent RURAL projects )

Project No.  Title  PI  Funding End   
RCS 24-265 HSR&D Senior Research Career Scientist Award Damush, Teresa 2031-03-31
HSR7-001-24W Geriatrics and Extended care-focused Network to Enhance Research Across the Enterprise (GENERATE) Pimentel, Camilla 2031-02-28
HSR2-015-24W Optimizing Delivery of Evidence-Based COPD Care for Rural Veterans Baldomero, Arianne 2030-12-31
HSR2-004-24W Characterizing the Quality of Evidence-based Prescribing for Hospitalized Veterans Anderson, Timothy 2029-12-31
IIR 23-097 Post-Hospitalization Virtual Care Among Veterans with Heart Failure: Examining Experiences, Costs, and Outcomes Wray, Charlie 2029-09-30

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HSR Briefs, Reports, Newsletters

Rural Veterans’ Thoughts on High Suicide Rates in Their Communities—and on What to Do About It (07-01-2025)

Rural Health (01-19-2024)

Perceived Benefits of Geriatric Specialty Telemedicine among Rural Veterans and Caregivers (01-02-2024)

Benefits of a Telehealth Approach to Treating Mental Illness among Veterans in Rural Settings (01-10-2022)

HSR&D Advances Research in Providing Healthcare for Veterans in Rural Settings (12-09-2021)

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Cyberseminars

The most recent "Rural" seminars are displayed.

Date Title Presenter(s)
3/11/2026 Assessing Circumstances and Offering Resources for Needs (ACORN) Russell, Lauren  
Newell, Summer  
Pfeiffer, Laurie  
Piazza, Kirstin  
10/16/2024 Integrating Revealed and Stated Preference Analysis to Improve Maternal Healthcare Access in Rural Areas Nunez, Adriana  
Brown, Paul  
6/13/2024 Using Multiple Qualitative Methods in a Multi-Year Enterprise-Wide Initiative Evaluation of the VA Medical Foster Home Program Haverhals, Leah  
Manheim, Chelsea  
3/21/2024 Telehealth Delivery of Yoga for Wellness Groups: Findings from a Multi-Site TeleYoga Program Evaluation Nicosia, Francesca  
3/12/2024 What is Rural? Burningham, Zach  
Kaboli, Peter  

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Videos


There are currently no videos for this topic.

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Podcasts


There are currently no podcasts for this topic.

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Other Resources

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Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.
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