Year(s) Funded: 2025-2026
Topic(s): Health Information Technology, Health Services, Hospitals and Clinics, Telehealth
Project Lead: Hannah Neprash
At present, little information exists to document the specific challenges faced by rural hospitals in implementing recommended cybersecurity practices. Known barriers include the high cost of many technology solutions and difficulty recruiting/retaining qualified information security professionals, but more detailed information is needed before policy efforts can effectively address these challenges for rural hospitals. This project seeks to identify and describe financial costs of adopting at rural hospitals, differences in cybersecurity challenges faced by critical access hospitals (CAHs) and other rurally-located hospitals, and workforce-related challenges such as recruitment and retention of qualified information technology and information security professionals.