Roadblocks to Rural Health: State Transportation Policies' Impact on Health Care Access in Virginia's Rural
Katherine Y Tossas1, Bianca D Owens1, Michael O'Grady1
1Katherine Y. Tossas is an assistant professor in the School of Public Health, Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the director of the Office of Catchment Area Data Analytics, Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. Bianca D. Owens is a postdoctoral research fellow at Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center. Michael O'Grady is a doctoral candidate with the L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs, Virginia Commonwealth University. Jinlei Zhao is a research specialist in the Office of Catchment Area Data Analytics. Robert A. Winn is the director of Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Abstract:
Individual and community-level transportation barriers are known drivers of health disparities, especially in rural areas. In a 2021-2022 community-based project to improve cancer screening at federally qualified health centers in Virginia, Department of Transportation policy governing road signage emerged as an unexpected but actionable barrier. Following successful advocacy for road signs directing patients to a rural federally qualified health center, screening rates increased. This highlights the need to recognize unexpected access barriers and engage nontraditional partners, such as transportation agencies, to reduce regulatory-level barriers. (Am J Public Health. 2026;116(2):175-179. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2025.308285).
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