neighborhood cookout

A network of neighbors & partners taking a stand for the health of your community

Interested in Participating?

Are you interested in participating in our study, between the ages of 25-64, and live in Assumption or Franklin Parish, Louisiana? Click here to let us know you’d like to join. You can see more information about our eligibility criteria on our Study Participants page.

The RURAL Cohort Study will also visit Kentucky. We are not yet recruiting there, but you are welcome to indicate your interest in participating here.

Interested in Participating? Click Here

About the RURAL Cohort Study

The Risk Underlying Rural Areas Longitudinal (RURAL) Cohort Study is a health research project in ten rural counties throughout Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The study will help to better understand health and disease in these rural areas. The information gathered in this study will help build future health programs to improve the health of local people in your community, which may promote healthier lives.

What does a participant do?

Participants in the RURAL Study will receive information on different areas of their health, including their heart and lungs.

We will visit participants in their county to complete an in-person research exam at our mobile exam unit. At the end of the visit, participants will receive a Fitbit device and a RURAL cell phone app that will be used to collect information about their health and lifestyle.

Eligibility

Enrollment in the RURAL Study is underway in Mississippi. Participants must be residents of specific counties in Alabama, Kentucky, Louisiana, and Mississippi. To be eligible for the study, participants must meet the following requirements:

  • Be 25-64 years of age
  • Speak English or Spanish
  • Have resided in the specific county for the past two years and plan to reside at the residence for the next two years
  • Not currently incarcerated or institutionalized
  • Not currently in hospice care and does not have terminal illness with less than 6 month life expectancy

How will participant information be used?

Participants will receive results from their research exam, which they can also share with their doctor. The RURAL Study team will refer participants to a health center if there are immediate health concerns found during the research exam.

The RURAL Study follows all HIPAA rules and regulations, in addition to the NIH and institutional guidelines, for the protection of all research participants. No information from the study that could identify a participant will be publicly shared.

Information collected

The in-person exam in the Mobile Examination Unit (MEU) will take about 3.5 hours and will include:

  • Vital signs including height and weight
  • Blood draw
  • Interviews and surveys asking about lifestyle and health history
  • Tests related to heart, lung, and blood vessel health

After the in-person exam, we will track participants’ physical activity using the provided Fitbit device. We will also ask questions about their overall health and lifestyle through the RURAL cell phone app.

Learn more about our MEU by watching the video below:

RURAL Study

Participant Newsletter

RURAL Newsletter: 2024 Edition

Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments, please call us at 1-888-RURALST (1- 888-787-2578) or email us at RURALstudy@uab.edu

Secured By miniOrange