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Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care, 12(2)  
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Rural Nursing: Searching for the State of the Science 

Martha A. Williams, PhD Student1 

Jill A. Andrews, PhD Student2 

Karen L Zanni, PhD Student3 

Pamela S Stewart Fahs, DSN4
 

1 
Binghamton University, mwilliams@aomc.org 

2 
Binghamton University, andrewsj@binghamton.edu 

3 
Binghamton University, kzanni1@binghamton.edu 

4
 Professor and Decker Endowed Chair of Rural Nursing, Binghamton University, 

psfahs@binghamton.edu  
 

Abstract
Background: During the development of the strategic plan for the Rural Nurse Organization in 
2009 a request was made for a comprehensive literature review regarding the state of the science 
of rural nursing. This request led to the collaboration on this project by doctoral students in the 
rural nursing program at Binghamton University. 
Purpose: The purpose of this review was to identify the current state of the science of rural 
nursing, and the use of theoretical principles that guide this subcomponent of the discipline. 
Methodology: An integrative review of the literature was conducted utilizing the methodology 
by Cooper (1998). Two hundred ninety five articles were identified with publication dates 
ranging from 1989 through 2010. From these, 107 were included in the review and analysis. 
Articles were evaluated for level of evidence and scientific merit. Data were categorized with 
sub-headings of rural definitions, theoretical frameworks, research focus, countries of origin and 
publication source. 
Results: Forty-two percent of the articles reviewed provided no definition for the term rural. The 
remaining articles revealed no general agreement on the definition of rural. Although the 
majority of studies used some theoretical framework, the one prominent theory was rural nursing 
theory (Long & Weinert, 1989). Minimal testing of theory was evident in the literature. Disease 
management was the most common focus of research. There was a dearth of studies emanating 
from Asian and South American countries. The Online Journal of Rural Nursing and Health 
Care published the greatest number of articles included in this review. 
Conclusions: There has been a proliferation of rural nursing research over the last two decades. 
The level of evidence revealed was low, predominantly level VI. The use of numerous and 
widely varied theories in the literature indicates that rural research is fragmented and lacks a 
solid theoretical foundation to guide research and practice. More robust research is needed to 
strengthen the body of knowledge and develop the specialty of rural nursing. 
 
Keywords:  Rural, Nurs*, Theory, Integrative Review, Research 
 

 



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Rural Nursing: Searching for the State of the Science 

In April 2009, the Rural Nurse Organization (RNO) strategic plan called for a review of the 
literature on rural nursing to examine a variety of possible issues such as conditions in rural 
areas, recruitment and retention needs, educational desires, state of the science in rural nursing 
research and professional organization services. In September of that year Pamela Stewart Fahs, 
RN, DSN and RNO secretary proposed that this review be the basis of a project for doctoral 
students working on a PhD in Rural Nursing at Binghamton University. It was agreed that this 
review would be conducted and be peer reviewed for suitability for publication in the Online 
Journal of Rural Nursing and Health Care. Thus the idea was born for an integrative review into 
the rural nursing literature. The major purpose was to identify the current state of the science of 
rural nursing, and the use of theoretical principles that guide this subcomponent of the discipline. 
The project was conceptualized as a class project, where the search and identification of the 
literature to review would be done as part of class work. Evaluation of the individual articles was 
completed by each student utilizing a scoring grid to identify level of evidence and scientific 
merit. Once this information was gathered, it was entered onto a literature comparison chart for 
further analysis.  

A systematic approach to analysis was performed as described by Cooper (1998). Cooper 
delineated the process of conducting a research review as encompassing a problem in stages, 
similar to the stages of conducting primary research, The key components are (a) problem 
formulation for the literature review, (b) literature search, (c) data evaluation; (d) data analysis; 
and (e) presentation. The initial stage of any review method is a clear identification of the 
problem that the review is addressing and the review purpose. Subsequently, the variables of 
interest and the appropriate sampling frame are determined. Having a well-specified review 
purpose and variables of interest facilitates all other stages of the review, particularly the ability 
to differentiate between pertinent and extraneous information in the data extraction stage. Data 
extraction from primary research reports can be complex because a wide range of variables will 
have been studied across multiple reports. Any integrative review can encompass an infinite 
number of variables; therefore, clarity of the review purpose is important. A well-specified 
research purpose and literature search strategy will facilitate the ability to accurately 
operationalize variables and thus extract appropriate data from primary sources regarding the 
state of the science of rural nursing. In any case, a clear problem identification and review 
purpose are essential to provide focus and boundaries for the integrative review process.  

Methodology 
Materials were gathered from a systematic review of electronic databases utilizing 

EBSCOHost. These included the Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature 
(CINAHL) and Medline to identify the state of the science of rural nursing. Key words used in 
the search included: nurs*, theory, and rural. Search delimiters were English language, available 
abstract and publication dates of 1989 to 2010. The beginning search date of 1989 was 
purposefully chosen in an effort to include a seminal article on rural nursing. The initial search 
yielded 294 items. A companion article to one of the original search articles was added using 
heritage method for a total of 295 items for review. 

The initial review of titles and abstracts was performed collectively by the group, 
generating a list of articles for inclusion, exclusion and those for further evaluation. Any 
definition of rural was accepted. Articles were included for review if they: (a) discussed any 



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traditional rural concept, (b) provided a framework for rural nursing, (c) explored or generated 
theories of rural nursing, (d) discussed the meta-paradigm: health, nursing, environment, and 
person as it related to rural nursing, (e) examined relationships between rural nursing and 
practice environments or (f) discussed rural nursing as a specialty or sub-specialty of nursing. 

All dissertations were excluded due to difficulty accessing electronic copies and prohibitive 
cost associated with obtaining copies for review. One article was excluded because of 
duplication in search results. Nine articles were judged to have low scientific merit based on the 
established scoring criteria. Major exclusion rationale included articles which were rural in 
setting only, 76; results that were not specific to rural nursing practice, 21; and one article which 
was excluded for both these reasons. Thus a total of 107 items met the inclusion criteria for 
review (Abrahams, Wood, & Jewkes, 1997; Allen, 2004; Anderko & Uscian, 2000; Anderko, 
Uscian, & Robertson, 1999; Andrews, Morgan, & Stewart, 2010; Annan, 2008; Appel, Giger, & 
Davidhizar, 2005; Barredo & Dudley, 2008; Bathum, 2007; Boucher, 2005; Boyd & Mackey, 
2000a, 2000b; Breda et al., 1997; Brennan & Stevens, 1998; Brewer, Zayas, Kahn, & 
Sienkiewicz, 2006; Brodie et al., 2005; Buehler & Lee, 1992; Burman, 2001; Bushy & Kost, 
1990; Cesario, Nelson, Broxson, & Cesario, 2010; Crigger et al., 2004; Cuellar, 2002; Davis & 
Droes, 1993; Day & Boynton, 2008; Drury, Francis, & Chapman, 2008; Eaves, 2006; 
Eisenhauer, Hunter, & Pullen, 2010; France, Fields, & Garth, 2004; Gibb, 2003; Gibb, Forsyth, 
& Anderson, 2005; Gobble, 2009; Green & Davis, 2005; Grubbs & Frank, 2004; Grzybowski, 
Kornelsen, & Cooper, 2007; Haegert, 2000; Hall et al., 2005; Hanna, 2001; Harrison, 1998; 
Heath, 1998; Hegney, 1997; Holt & Reeves, 2001; Howell, Nelson-Marten, Krebs, Kaszyk, & 
Wold, 1998; Hylton, 2005; Jervis, Shore, Hutt, & Manson, 2007; Juhl, Dunkin, Stratton, Geller, 
& Ludtke, 1993; Keller, 2008; Kelley, 2004; Keogh, 1997; Kim, Kim, Park, & Kim, 2010; 
Kulig, 2000; Lauder, Reel, Farmer, & Griggs, 2006; Lee & Winters, 2004; Lee, Arthur, & Avis, 
2007; Leight, 2003; LeSergent & Haney, 2005; Lethbridge, 1989; Lo & Brown, 1999; Long & 
Weinert, 1989; Martin, Garcia, & Leipert, 2010; Mastaglia & Kristjanson, 2001; Mayne & 
Glascoff, 2002; McClune, 2009; McConigley, Kristjanson, & Morgan, 2000; McCoy, 2009; 
Meraviglia, 2004; Mills, Chapman, Bonner, & Francis, 2007; Mills, Francis, & Bonner, 2007a, 
2007b, 2008a, 2008b; Modungwa, Poggenpoel, & Gmeiner, 2000; Molinari & Monserud, 2009; 
Morgan, Semchuk, Stewart, & D'Arcy, 2002; Mostafanejad, 2006; Nichols, 1999; Ostlund, 2010; 
Penz & Stewart, 2008; Price, Burkhart, Burkhart, & Islam, 1999; Prior, 2009; Pullen & Walker, 
2002; Racher & Vollman, 2002; Racher, Vollman, & Annis, 2004; Reay, Patterson, Halma, & 
Steed, 2006; Schumacher, 2010; Scott-Findlay & Chalmers, 2001; Sellers, Poduska, Propp, & 
White, 1999; Shambley-Ebron & Boyle, 2006; Sizemore, Robbins, Hoke, & Billings, 2007; 
Sliep, Poggenpoel, & Gmeiner, 2001a, 2001b; Soltis-Jarrett, 1995; Sossong, 2007; Sullivan, 
Weinert, & Cudney, 2003; Takase, Maude, & Manias, 2005; Textor & Porock, 2006; van der 
Merwe, 1999; Weinert, Cudney, & Spring, 2008; Werle, 2004; White & Mortensen, 2003; 
Williams, 2001; Witte, Dm, & Steyn, 2008; Wittig, 2001; Woodhouse, 2009; Xiao, 2010; 
Yonge, 2007, 2009; Yurkovich, Buehler, & Smyer, 1997). Of these, 62 were qualitative, 25 
quantitative, one was mixed methods and 19 were not data based. Figure 1 summarizes the 
search process.  

 
 

 
 



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Figure 1. Results of literature search 

Procedure 
After the studies were identified, they were divided among the writing group members for 

systematic review and categorization according to a rating system for the critical appraisal of the 

EBSCO Host Search Engine 

295 Articles  

(1 from Heritage search) 

Inclusion Criteria:    
Rural concepts & 
frameworks, rural nursing, 
rural nursing speciality or 
subspeciality, rural practice 
environments, & rural 
health care.  

Articles Meeting Criteria: 
107 

Excusion Criteria:   
Dissertations (80), 
Duplications (1), Low 
Scientific Merit (9), Results 
not rural [RNR] (21), Rural 
in setting only [RSO] (76), 
Both RNR & RSO (1) 

Articles Excluded: 188 



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evidence, as defined by Fineout-Overholt and colleagues (Fineout-Overholt, Melnyk, Stillwell, 
& Williamson, 2010). The procedure used in this review also included identification of scientific 
merit for each research article (Association of Women's Health Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses 
[AWHONN], 2003). 
Level of Evidence 

Levels of evidence range from I to VII, see Table 1. The majority of the studies were non-
experimental, descriptive correlational design, Level VI. While randomized controlled studies 
control best for bias, none were found during this review.  

Table 1 

 
 

Scientific Merit Scoring Criteria 
Qualitative studies were evaluated for merit using a literature scoring grid adapted from 

Cesario et al., (2002) with a possible score of 30 points. Articles scoring 15 or less were deemed 
to have low scientific merit and were excluded. Quantitative studies were evaluated for merit 
using a literature scoring grid with a possible score of 24 points adapted from AWHONN (2003). 
Articles receiving a score less than 12 out of 24 based on this evaluation were not considered for 
review 

Literature Comparison Grid 
A literature comparison grid was developed to organize the data under the original 

subheadings of: reference, reviewer initials, rural definition, study-theoretical framework, 
research focus, sample methodology, instruments, dependent variables and findings. Group 
discussions led to the identification of which of these sub-headings provided the clearest picture 
of the state of the science of rural nursing. From this discussion a final table was generated that 
included: rural definitions, study theoretical frameworks, research focus, country of origin, 
publication source, level of evidence, and scientific merit. The focus of the research was 
summarized under major nursing topics such as professional and higher nursing education, 
disease management, cultural competence, workforce issues and mentoring. The grid assisted in 
the identification and organization of theories, models and frameworks reported in the literature. 
This comparison was especially beneficial in analyzing and categorizing the multiple ways rural 
was defined in studies. Finally, the results were synthesized into a summary of the state of the 
science of rural nursing. 



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Findings 
Models, Theories, and Frameworks  

Of the 107 inclusion articles reviewed, theories, models or frameworks were mentioned a 
total of 77 times. The most frequently cited, six times, was Rural Nursing Theory (Lee & 
Winters, 2004; Long & Weinert, 1989, 1999; McCoy, 2009; Sullivan et al., 2003; Weinert et al., 
2008 ). This was closely followed by Leininger’s Theory of Cultural Care Diversity and 
Universality (Holt & Reeves, 2001; Molinari & Monserud, 2009; Schumacher, 2010; Sellers et 
al., 1999; Wittig, 2001); Bandura’s Social Cognitive theory (Anderko & Uscian, 2000; Cuellar, 
2002; Hall et al., 2005; Kelley, 2004; Molinari & Monserud, 2009): and Self-Efficacy which is a 
component of other social theories (Cuellar, 2002; Hall et al., 2005; L. L. Lee et al., 2007; 
Molinari & Monserud (2009) and Price et al., (1999) were each cited five times. Nursing for the 
Whole Person Theory (Modungwa et al., 2000; Sliep et al., 2001a, 2001b);  Watson’s Theory of 
Human Caring (France et al., 2004; Green & Davis, 2005; Witte et al., 2008) and Ajzen-Fishbein 
Theory of Reasoned Action (Anderko & Uscian, 2000; Howell et al., 1998; Lo & Brown, 1999), 
were each mentioned three times. Knowles Adult Learning Theory (Bushy & Kost, 1990; Textor 
& Porock, 2006), and Lazarus Theory of Stress and Coping (Cuellar, 2002; LeSergent & Haney, 
2005) were each cited two times. The remaining 45 models and theories were each cited only 
once. 

The majority of the authors identified a theoretical basis for their work. Several articles 
provided solid examples of general theory testing. Molinari and Monserud (2009) successfully 
tested several aspects of Bandura’s self-efficacy construct and parts of Leininger’s theory of 
cultural care diversity and universality. In this study, self-efficacy increased the time, effort and 
persistence that individuals expend when challenged, and the authors concluded that nurses self-
efficacy was related to job satisfaction scores. 

The actual testing of rural theories or propositions was minimal. Studies often denoted the 
rural concepts (Winters & Lee, 2010) such as distance, isolation, familiarity, and professional 
concepts including autonomy, generalist, and role diffusion. However, these concepts are seldom 
used as study variables. A notable exception was a study of differences in autonomy and nurse-
physician interactions (Penz & Stewart, 2008). One qualitative study (H. J. Lee & Winters, 2004) 
validated and expanded Long and Weinert’s (Long & Weinert) original Rural Nursing Theory 
adding the concepts of choice of residence and the process of symptom action timeline symptom-
action-time-line (SATL) and further clarified the definition of health; however concepts of 
outsider, old-timer, and newcomer were conspicuously absent. Some of the qualitative literature 
reinforced rural concepts, such as isolation (Mostafanejad, 2006), role diffusion and the related 
concept of professional boundary challenges as described by Yonge (2007, 2009). 

Rural Definitions 
The definition of rural is methodologically important, and holds considerable 

implications for ongoing development of rural nursing theory. Yet, 42% of the articles reviewed 
provided no definition for the term rural. The remaining 58% of the articles revealed a multitude 
of definitions, about which there was no general agreement. Of those articles that did define 
rural, two useful categories for classifying their definitions emerged. Authors generally described 
rural using either subjective terminology or demo-geographic terminology. Subjective definitions 
outnumbered demo-geographic definitions by nearly three to one; 46 articles (43%) defined rural 
in subjective terms, while the remaining 17 articles (15%) used demo-geographic terms. 



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The subjective definitions of rural generally described aspects of location pertinent to the 
phenomenon being studied. In many cases, the term rural was not described, but the reader could 
usually conclude the study was conducted in a rural setting based on some contextual 
information, for example, describing Appalachia as a “rugged mountainous region of the Eastern 
United States” (Gobble, 2009, p. 94) or describing regions of New York state as “extremely rural 
areas in the northern and southwestern parts of the state” (Brewer et al., 2006, p. 54). Thirty-four 
articles used distinguishing subjective terms such as, “small rural hospitals” (Gibb et al., 2005), 
“miles from an urban center” (Keogh, 1997), not urban or “outside of major metropolitan 
centres” (Mills, Francis et al., 2007b, p. 583), “who live in a certain rural village” (Modungwa et 
al., 2000, p. 64), or simply a “rural community” (Woodhouse, 2009, p. 22). 

Demo-geographic definitions or taxonomies were primarily used by researchers to 
officially define a specific characteristic of a particular rural place. Those definitions included 
the US rural taxonomies such as Office of Management and Budget (OMB) (Anderko & Uscian, 
2000; Juhl et al., 1993; Leight, 2003), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Mash 
et al., 2008), and US Census Bureau (McCoy, 2009). Australian taxonomies such as 
Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia (ARIA) Rural, Remote and Metropolitan Areas 
(RRMA) (Drury et al., 2008, p. 784); and additional governmental designations set forth by 
Statistics Canada and Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (Kulig, 
2000; Morgan et al., 2002; Penz & Stewart, 2008; Pullen & Walker, 2002; Scott-Findlay & 
Chalmers, 2001). Other demo-geographic definitions were unofficial population based, for 
example, four articles specifically cited Long and Weinert’s (1989) sparsely populated areas as 
the way they described rural (Cuellar, 2002, p. 38; Davis & Droes, 1993, p. 159; H. J. Lee & 
Winters, 2004, p. 51; Long & Weinert, 1999, p.259). Others used terminology that quantified 
size such as “greater than six, but < 100 persons per square mile” (Buehler & Lee, 1992, p. 300 ); 
“less than 1,500 population” (H. J. Lee & Winters, 2004, p. 51); “a rural area of Taiwan that has 
a population density of 75 persons per square kilometer compared to a density of more than 3000 
persons for the country as a whole” (L. L. Lee et al., 2007, p. 161); “greater than 100 kilometers 
from Perth [Australia]” (McConigley et al., 2000, p. 82), “the state is sparsely populated with an 
average of 6.2 people per square mile” (Sullivan et al., 2003, p. 567), and “small rural town of 
about 28,000 people”(Wittig, 2001, p. 204). One article, (Racher et al., 2004) laid out the 
multiple ways “rural” can be defined. 

Topics 
Fifty-four different topics emerged. The most common category was disease management, 

addressed in 22 articles. This was further subdivided into more specific categories such as 
cancer, cardiovascular/stroke, mental illness, antibiotic use and pain. Nursing or professional 
education, along with mentoring was the focus of 13 articles. Cultural issues were cited 10 times 
while women’s health was the topic of nine articles.  

Topics that were conspicuously absent included telehealth, technology, and communication 
infrastructure, or lack thereof. An exception to this finding was the discussion of a chronic illness 
model derived from a computer-based intervention for managing the health of chronically ill 
women in rural areas (Weinert et al., 2008). Also limited was research based on the core rural 
concepts of distance and isolation, with the exception of one article which described families' 
perceptions of their experiences and challenges that were due to living a great distance from a 
cancer treatment center (Scott-Findlay & Chalmers, 2001).  



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Source 
Country of origin. The majority of the articles, 56, emanated from the United States. 

Other countries where studies originated were: Australia,18; Canada, 14; South Africa, 6; 
Dominican Republic, 2; Malawi, 2; New Zealand, 2; United Kingdom, 2; and Honduras, Korea, 
Peru, Sweden, and Taiwan, 1 each. 

Publication. Articles were published in 66 journals. The Online Journal of Rural Nursing 
and Health Care published 10 of the articles reviewed. The Journal of Advanced Nursing 
published six; Journal of Transcultural Nursing, five; Curationis, Oncology Nursing Forum and 
Public Health Nursing four each; and Australian Journal of Advanced Nursing and Nurse 
Education Today three each. Seven journals published two articles and fifty one published one 
article each. 

Discussion 
Limitations 

Some significant contributions to the rural nursing body of literature were potentially 
missed due to the methodology used in this review. The exclusion of dissertations from this 
review, while practical, limits the scope of the findings. The use of the selected search engines 
limited textbooks as a source of information, for example the Bushy series on rural nursing 
(Bushy, 1991a, 1991b) or the book on Nursing in the Rural Community (Bushy, 2000). 
Evidence-based practice guidelines, white papers, and position statements were not located 
through the search parameters. The deliberate choice of EBSCOHOST as a search engine may 
have led to the exclusion of some publications by authors from disciplines other than nursing. 
Some journals publishing articles pertinent to rural healthcare, such as the Journal of Rural 
Health, were not found through this search. The use of English language as a search delimiter 
potentially minimized international contributions. 

The subjective identification of “rural in setting only” as an exclusion criterion may have 
further contributed to what is perceived as a gap in the body of literature. Topics labeled as rural 
in the title or abstract without further elucidation of how they apply to healthcare in the rural 
setting were excluded. Additional review was conducted where doubt regarding classification 
existed; however, inter-rater reliability was not calculated. 

Conclusion 
Rural nursing has experienced rapid growth over the last 23 years. Since the first seminal 

article by Long and Weinert (1989), there has been a proliferation of literature specific to rural 
nursing. However, the majority of the research found in this review was descriptive-correlational 
in nature. The discipline needs to produce higher levels of evidence to advance the state of the 
science and to formulate a basis from which to develop clinical practice guidelines and 
competencies specific to the specialty of rural nursing. The theoretical principles that guide rural 
nursing have been identified, and while evolving, they have not been sufficiently tested. The use 
of numerous and widely varied theories in the literature indicates that rural research is 
fragmented and lacks a solid theoretical foundation.  

Defining the concept of rural has been imprecise over time and continues to be problematic 
in this review. It is useful to categorize definitions of rural for the purpose of discussion. Rather 
than standardizing definitions into a few all-purpose designations, nurse researchers should 
specify which aspects of rural are relevant to the phenomenon being studied, and then apply the 



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most appropriate definition. Authors have a responsibility to operationally define rural in future 
work. The use of the term rural in the title or abstract can be misleading. If the study is rural in 
setting only, it may add little to the body of literature. Those studies in which the concept is 
reflected throughout the study are more likely to contribute to the state of the science of rural 
nursing.  

Studies pertinent to rural healthcare issues like disease management or professional 
practice need to include rural concepts as independent variables in order to accurately identify 
how these concepts affect outcomes. While increased communication infrastructure holds the 
promise of improved access for rural dwellers, a dearth of literature on the topic was found in 
this review. Therefore, the relationship between communication infrastructure and access to care 
should be further developed and tested. Few articles spoke to the specialized skills and 
knowledge required to care for rural populations. More work is needed in the area of rural 
nursing as a specialty.  

Almost half of the seven billion people on earth live in rural areas (Brownlee, 2011). The 
sources of literature were not evenly distributed from a global perspective. Sixty-five percent of 
the articles reviewed were from North America. This may be due in part to the discussed 
limitations; however greater geographical diversity would provide a more comprehensive 
representation of rural nursing.  

When accessing rural literature, no one search engine will adequately produce all-inclusive 
results. Well-defined literature search strategies are critical for enhancing the rigor of any type of 
review because incomplete and biased searches result in an inadequate database and the potential 
for inaccurate results (Cooper, 1998). Ideally, all of the relevant literature on the state of the 
science of rural nursing would be included in the review; yet obtaining dissertations was 
challenging and costly. Computerized databases proved efficient and effective; however, 
limitations associated with inconsistent search terminology and indexing problems yielded some 
studies that took place in rural settings only. Thus, other recommended approaches to searching 
the literature should include journal specific review and use of multiple search engines.  

Inherent in conducting rural research is the need to operationally define rural. The variety 
of definitions, the absence of any definition, or the inappropriate application of a rural definition 
are methodological challenges for rural studies. While the state of the science of rural nursing 
research continues to have many weaknesses, we are making strides in expanding the body of 
knowledge, conducting more sophisticated and methodologically sound studies, and developing 
ongoing programs of nursing research.  

Many challenges face the nursing research community in its efforts to expand the empirical 
knowledge base to inform rural nursing practice. Few journals specialize in rural health as a 
primary focus. More journals need to include manuscripts that adequately address issues of rural 
healthcare. Nurse researchers also have a responsibility to increase the scientific merit and level 
of evidence or their work. Funding agencies have a responsibility to acknowledge the challenges 
inherent in conducting rural research and support studies that will improve rural healthcare. An 
increased focus on rural nursing research and greater interdisciplinary collaboration can improve 
the state of the science of rural nursing and healthcare.  

 
 
 



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Acknowledgements 
The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of Ralph Klotzbaugh and Rosemary 
Collier, PhD Students DSON; Binghamton University and Erin Rushton, Associate Librarian, 
Binghamton University. 

 
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