OHIO faculty members honored for award-winning research article

Three Ohio University faculty members were honored earlier this summer after their article was named the Article of the Year by the Journal of Rural Health.

The faculty members, who are all part of OHIO’s Institute to Advance Health Equity, partnered with a faculty member from Florida Atlantic University on the article, “Efforts by critical access hospitals to increase health equity through greater engagement with social determinants of health.” The article was published by the Journal of Rural Health in June 2023.

The authors of the article are:

• Bethany Lemont, Ph.D., an assistant professor of economics in the College of Arts and Sciences and a core faculty member of the Institute.
• Neeraj Puro, Ph.D., an assistant professor of management programs – health administration from Florida Atlantic University.
• Cory Cronin, Ph.D., an associate professor and co-director of the Institute to Advance Healthy Equity in the College of Health Sciences and Professions.
• Berkeley Franz, Ph.D., professor of community-based health in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and co-director of the Institute to Advance Health Equity.

The study looks at the extent to which hospitals screen patients for social needs. It particularly focuses on the involvement of critical access hospitals, which are rural hospitals with a specific designation due to size and population served.

Hospitals play a critical role not only for their provision of medical services, but also for their role in connecting communities to resources in order to help with unmet social needs. The article explains this critical role and was recognized with the national award due to the outstanding work of everyone involved.

“I really enjoyed working with everyone on this paper! I think it's a great combination of our strengths and perspectives from each of our respective disciplines,” Lemont said. "I'm so proud to see all of our hard work recognized with this award.”

The Institute to Advance Health Equity

OHIO’s Institute to Advance Health Equity (ADVANCE) promotes research that contributes to the developing science of health equity and population health improvement through the study of health outcomes and services, as well as social factors that impact health.

ADVANCE fosters social science and health services research to reduce health disparities based on a wide range of social factors, and it supports research collaboration across Ohio University and with community-based research partners.

For more information on the award-winning article or on the important work that ADVANCE is involved in to foster team science and facilitate clinical and community research partnership, visit the ADVANCE website or email advance@ohio.edu.