Borders Named Editor of The Journal of Rural Health

By Chadley Uekman

 Ty Borders, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, has been named editor of The Journal of Rural Health.
Ty Borders, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, has been named editor of The Journal of Rural Health.

Ty Borders, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management, has been named editor of The Journal of Rural Health, the official journal of the National Rural Health Association and leading publication of rural health research with more than 10,000 subscriptions worldwide.. Last year, articles on the publication’s Web site were downloaded more than 40,000 times, with 40 percent occurring in other countries.

“Most of my research pertains to rural health and health care issues. Living in a predominately rural state like Arkansas, the importance of advancing our understanding of the health problems and related health care needs of rural residents has become a great interest of mine,” Borders said. “It’s a great honor for me to have been chosen as editor of this prestigious scholarly publication and I look forward to continuing its mission to publish the most up-to-date and pertinent rural health research findings possible.”

Borders will remain a College of Public Health faculty member and will direct the publication from his office on the UAMS campus. His duties include winnowing the more than 200 annual article submissions down to about 60 that get published each year.

“One unique aspect of this journal is that although we publish original research, it is intended to have applications for health care delivery and has a very substantial influence on the way we deliver services in rural communities in the United States and abroad,” Borders said.

Previously serving on the Editorial Boards of The Journal of Rural Health and the Texas Journal for Rural Health, Borders is tuned into the need for incorporating modern practices to help streamline the publication’s operations. He recently implemented an online submission system to get pieces published more quickly. He also plans to find ways to attract new authors and readers and to optimize the relevance of its contents to rural health management, practice and policy.

Borders said he hopes the opportunity for his editorship will also be good for UAMS and the College of Public Health by adding to the credibility of the impressive work being done there.

“It’s also perhaps an opportunity to help bring people together on campus to focus on rural health issues,” Borders said.

Borders has authored articles covering a wide range of rural health topics, including rural residents’ assessments of their medical care access and quality, health-related quality of life and health behaviors. His recent research has focused on the epidemiology of alcohol and illicit drug abuse and accessibility of substance abuse treatment in rural America.