The WWAMI Rural Health Research Center (RHRC) is one of seven rural health research centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Federal Office of Rural Health Policy (FORHP) to perform policy-oriented research on issues related to rural health care. The WWAMI RHRC, which was established in the fall of 1988, is based in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine and works closely with the state departments of health and Area Health Education Centers in the five WWAMI states (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) as well as other researchers and policymakers across the United States and internationally.
News
New RHRC Publications
- Patterson DG, Skillman SM. National Consensus Conference on Community Paramedicine: summary of an expert meeting. Seattle, WA: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, University of Washington; Feb 2013. Full report.
- Patterson DG, Skillman SM. A national agenda for community paramedicine research. Seattle, WA: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, University of Washington; Feb 2013. Full report.
- Patterson DG, Longenecker R, Schmitz D, Phillips RL Jr, Skillman SM, Doescher MP. Policy brief: rural residency training for family medicine physicians: graduate early-career outcomes, 2008-2012. Seattle, WA: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, University of Washington; Jan 2013. Policy brief.
- Skillman SM, Keppel GA, Patterson DG, Doescher MP. The contributions of community colleges to the education of allied health professionals in rural areas of the United States. Final Report #136. Seattle, WA: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, University of Washington; Oct 2012. Full report. Policy brief.
- Baldwin LM, Patel S, Andrilla CHA, Rosenblatt RA, Doescher MP. Receipt of recommended radiation therapy among rural and urban cancer patients. Cancer. Oct 2012;118(2):5100-5109. Access from Cancer.
New RHRC Studies
- A Novel Master File of Rural Family Medicine Residency Training: Program Models and Graduate Outcomes (funded by HRSA, Office of Rural Health Policy).
- What Strategies Are Nurse Practitioner Educational Programs Using to Encourage Rural Practice? (funded by HRSA, Office of Rural Health Policy).
- Which Physician Assistant Training Programs Produce Rural Physician Assistants? A National Study (funded by HRSA, Office of Rural Health Policy).
- The Supply of Physicians Waivered to Treat Opioid Addiction in Rural America: Policy Options to Remedy Critical Shortages (funded by HRSA, Office of Rural Health Policy).
- HIT Workforce Development in Rural-Serving Community Colleges (funded by HRSA, Office of Rural Health Policy).
Descriptions of completed and in-progress rural health studies by the WWAMI RHRC.
Links to findings from research studies by the WWAMI RHRC
Links to resources for more information about rural health and related topics


