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Improving the quality of rural nursing care.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Cox, K; Mahone, I; Merwin, E
Published in: Annual review of nursing research
January 2008

The purpose of this chapter is to review the literature on quality of care in rural areas. Keywords related to rural quality of care were used to search CINAHL and MEDLINE databases for articles published between 2005 and 2007 (limited to studies occurring in the United States). The review consisted of a total of 46 articles. Limitations include inconsistent definitions of rural, the use of only articles available to the reviewers, an unclear understanding of the context of many of the studies, and lack of a clear operational definition of quality. The studies were grouped and discussed according to quality of workforce, practice, treatment, interventions, and technology in rural areas. Each study's contribution to the understanding of quality health care in rural areas and to determining what was effective in improving staff, patient, or organizational outcomes in rural areas was considered. This chapter also offers a discussion of ethical issues and data quality in rural research. Issues for future research include a focus on patient safety, mental health issues, and the use of technology to improve quality of care in rural areas. Future research should also focus on demonstration studies of model applications. The nursing profession has a unique opportunity to conduct research that will contribute to the development of knowledge that will ultimately improve the quality of health and health care for individuals in rural communities.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Annual review of nursing research

DOI

ISSN

0739-6686

Publication Date

January 2008

Volume

26

Start / End Page

175 / 194

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Total Quality Management
  • Technology Assessment, Biomedical
  • Safety Management
  • Rural Population
  • Rural Health Services
  • Rural Health
  • Research Design
  • Quality of Health Care
  • Palliative Care
 

Citation

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Cox, K., Mahone, I., & Merwin, E. (2008). Improving the quality of rural nursing care. Annual Review of Nursing Research, 26, 175–194. https://doi.org/10.1891/0739-6686.26.1.175
Cox, Kathleen, Irma Mahone, and Elizabeth Merwin. “Improving the quality of rural nursing care.Annual Review of Nursing Research 26 (January 2008): 175–94. https://doi.org/10.1891/0739-6686.26.1.175.
Cox K, Mahone I, Merwin E. Improving the quality of rural nursing care. Annual review of nursing research. 2008 Jan;26:175–94.
Cox, Kathleen, et al. “Improving the quality of rural nursing care.Annual Review of Nursing Research, vol. 26, Jan. 2008, pp. 175–94. Epmc, doi:10.1891/0739-6686.26.1.175.
Cox K, Mahone I, Merwin E. Improving the quality of rural nursing care. Annual review of nursing research. 2008 Jan;26:175–194.

Published In

Annual review of nursing research

DOI

ISSN

0739-6686

Publication Date

January 2008

Volume

26

Start / End Page

175 / 194

Related Subject Headings

  • United States
  • Total Quality Management
  • Technology Assessment, Biomedical
  • Safety Management
  • Rural Population
  • Rural Health Services
  • Rural Health
  • Research Design
  • Quality of Health Care
  • Palliative Care