The Center for Health Policy Research and Development (CHPR&D) proposes to establish the Oklahoma Rural Research Center. The Oklahoma Rural Research Center will operate as a multidisciplinary collaborative center invOlving faculty of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) and the Oklahoma State University (OSU), CHPR&D staff, and personnel from the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) as core participants. Seven of Oklahoma's 77 counties are considered to be frontier areas with a population density of about 6 per square mile, only 14 counties are included in the five Metropolitan Statistical Areas of the State. As in many states with a significant rural population, 41 percent of the population resides outside of metropolitan areas and 74.37% live in counties or census subdivisions designated as Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) or Medically Underserved Areas (MUA). THE RESEARCH AGENDA is built on analysis and evaluations that will enumerate effective characteristics of public-private partnerships to create and sustain rural health primary care networks. A technical assistance plan for Oklahoma rural communities will be built around fundamental elements identified in the literature and through the experiences of the network of AHCPR Rural Research Centers. Faculty will work with collaborating partners and community demonstration sites to disseminate and apply primary care network principles toward the support of developing community coalitions to improve primary care access for rural residents, including approaches to give attention to resolving disparities in access and outcomes for women, people of color, and individuals with developmental or other disabilities residing in rural areas.
