Accessing Rural Populations for Nursing Research: Challenges and Lessons Learned

One fourth of the population of the United States lives in rural areas. It is known that those who reside in rural areas tend to have poorer health and less access to health care resources than those living in non-rural areas of the United States. Conducting nursing research in rural areas can be challenging for a number of reasons. This task can be especially challenging when it involves researching a sensitive topic such as adolescent suicide. Researchers will present their experiences of conducting nursing research with rural mental health practitioners who work with adolescents and their families. This poster will focus on lessons learned while conducting nursing research with rural populations; highlighting methodological issues encountered with rural populations, and present strategies to facilitate the process and reduce barriers to research with rural populations.