Rural Health Core Research: Exploring Rural Health Trends and Expanding Research Engagement

Jul 27 11:42am | Jasmine Souers | @jasminesouers

The Mayo Clinic’s Rural Health Research Core at the Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCaTS) continues to expand its network of rural health researchers and community partners. Driven by collaboration through the Midwest Rural Health Research Community Advisory Board (CAB), outreach initiatives, and strategic collaborations, the team is dedicated to identifying key health issues and finding innovative ways to improve healthcare access and delivery in rural communities.

Rural-urban differences regarding tobacco use, cessation interventions and lung cancer screening

For more than 60 years, the Rochester Epidemiology Project (REP) has helped researchers study health trends across 27 counties in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In a National Cancer Institute-funded study, researchers from Mayo Clinic, The Ohio State University, and Vanderbilt University used REP data to explore tobacco use, smoking cessation support, and lung cancer screening among people living in rural and urban areas. Supported by the Rural Health Research Core, the study looked at trends over a 10-year period. Results were shared by Brianna Tranby, M.A., a senior research program coordinator at Mayo Clinic, at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2026 in San Diego, California. Read the findings from her poster presentation was titled "Patterns of Tobacco Use, Cessation Interventions, and Lung Cancer Screening in Rural vs. Urban Areas Over Time: A 10-Year Retrospective Cohort Study."

Bringing Clinical Research Conversations to Rural Communities

In June, the Rural Health Research Core team took its outreach efforts on the road, attending the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire Academy for Lifelong Learners event to share information about clinical research with community members.

The day-long event featured sessions on a wide variety of topics and welcomed more than 400 attendees. Mayo Clinic Health System was among more than 60 exhibitors. The MCHS tables offered free blood pressure checks and shared information about Advanced Care at Home, a new option for patients who qualify. The Mayo Clinic Rural Health Research Core team provided information about clinical research - what it is, why it matters, and how community members can be involved. Through programs like the Community Engagement Studio, Community Scientist and the Community Research Registry, more rural voices are reflected in the research that impacts communities. Attendees expressed interest in learning more about cancer (what it is and how to reduce risk) and clinical research.

Events like this offer an opportunity to meet community members where they are. Sharing information in spaces where people are already gathering is one of the many ways the Rural Health Research Core team works to invite rural community members into the research process.

Upcoming events

C2DREAM Overview

TUESDAY, SEPT. 8 | 12:00 - 1:00 P.M. CT | ONLINE EVENT VIA ZOOM

Join us on September 8th! Drs. Felicity Enders and Christi Patten, C2DREAM MPIs will provide an overview of C2DREAM's activities and research related to multiple chronic diseases and the community. Register here.