ETSU recently became one of eight recipients of a very competitive federal grant. “It is a $2.8 million, 4-year grant to conduct rural health research for the Federal Health Resources and Services Administration,” said Michael Meit, director of the ETSU center for rural health and research.
The grant comes from a subsection of the Department of Health and Human Services. “They are the agency that is focused on access to healthcare services, health workforce issues and rural health issues,” said Meit.
ETSU proposes a set of research studies to be negotiated and approved by the federal agencies involved. Four studies are conducted from each grant. Meit added the Center for Disease Control and Prevention added money to this grant, so a fifth related study will be conducted this year.
“In the past we have done projects related to suicide mortality, mental health stigma, hospital utilization studies and studies looking at medicare advantage,” said Meit. Since the grant is newly awarded, it is unclear what the upcoming projects will be.
The study for the CDC will look at area level vulnerability which helps determine where resources and funding are allocated. The study will help target specific needs in rural areas.
While there are many definitions of rural, they all share similar challenges. “Approximately 20% of the US population lives in rural jurisdictions, across definitions,” Meit said. He hopes that the studies benefit everyone in these communities and help ease the challenges of staying healthy in rural areas.
“The center is comprised of 16 individuals including 10 research faculty. We have a lot of capacity for different research interests and projects,” said Meit. The center also does work for the Tennessee Department of Health and the Appalachian Regional Commission.
“It is very competitive, it’s something I am really proud of. We are the only regional university that is one of the grantees, most of the grantees are very large universities,” Meit added. This is the second time ETSU has been awarded this grant, the first time being September 2020.
“I feel that as a regional university our strength is our connection to our region and communities. We bring an important voice to the rural health research process because of that, we are doing some really groundbreaking work that has potential to improve lives and that is what is exciting to me,” shared Meit.
