The Rural Research Centers Papers comprise materials from two different but related academic-public initiatives: the Southeastern Rural Mental Health Research Center (SRMHRC) and its successor, the Rural Health Care Research Center (RHCRC). The Centers coordinated interdisciplinary academic research projects from 1992 to 2000 (SRMHRC) and from 2004 to 2010 (RHCRC). Global research objectives for the SRMHRC centered on examinations of how rural poor, minority, and elderly patient groups living in the southeastern region of the United States accessed mental health care, specifically through formal and informal mental health care networks in addition to the primary mental health care system. Projects assessed use and success rates of various treatment modalities and services, both professional and non-professional. The RHCRC expanded the research mission to include rural populations nationwide, along with investigations of technological innovations that could increase access to care, and the study and development of new training methods for professionals, all housed in a dedicated facility in the University of Virginia School of Nursing. The Centers ultimately aimed to improve public policy, health care delivery, and treatment outcomes for rural populations who typically experience greater isolation from facilities and practitioners than do residents of urban areas, in aggregate, not only on account of geographic position but also as a result of the intersection of such additional factors as income, education, and race with the cultural conditions unique to rural areas.

The most richly detailed information on the two Centers' functions is contained in the extensive sequence of grant applications and continuation documents, which not only include Center administration but also — and more significantly — discussions of the numerous sponsored research projects. In addition, separate grant applications and project descriptions submitted to the Centers by individual researchers or research teams expand the view of the kinds of projects conducted and the specific conclusions drawn. A smaller number of formal reports offer similar details, as do correspondence files and meeting agendas and minutes. These last are more directly related to administrative issues, as are certain budgetary records. Conference proceedings highlight further academic proposals and findings, as do a small number of related publications or reports that were filed with the Centers' papers.