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Rural Health Information Hub
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
News by Topic: Mental health

Aug 23, 2024 - Describes the establishment of the National Rural Adolescent and Child Health (NRACH) ECHO Training Center in 2022. Notes that, due to a shortage of rural psychologists, rural children often seek care from primary care doctors for mental health issues. Highlights services offered by the NRACH ECHO Training Center, including virtual medical education for rural primary care doctors on a variety of mental health issues and treatment approaches.
Source: National Rural Health Association
Aug 22, 2024 - Reports on a free telepsychology clinic for rural Iowans. Discusses the lack of mental health services due to workforce shortages in the state, rural specific stressors, and stigma. Highlights the value of training the behavioral health workforce with and in rural communities.
Source: Iowa Capital Dispatch
Aug 22, 2024 - Profiles a new mental illness and substance use disorder support center in a rural New York county. The Wellness Hub will offer emergency and permanent housing and access to clinicians. Discusses gaps in treatment and care access due to workforce shortages.
Source: Public News Service
Aug 21, 2024 - Notice of final rule from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) making regulatory changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) to support and stabilize the Head Start workforce and improve the quality of services Head Start programs. Among other things, changes aim to support and stabilize the Head Start workforce through new requirements for staff wages, benefits, and wellness supports; strengthen mental health services for children, families, and staff by integrating mental health into all aspects of program service delivery; and improve the quality of services provided to children and families across a variety of other service areas. This rule is effective August 21, 2024.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 19, 2024 - Highlights rural mental healthcare opportunities for access and barriers to care through telehealth. Discusses workforce shortages, stigma, telehealth infrastructure, reimbursement, and more.
Source: Psychology Today
Aug 15, 2024 - Highlights a new program to support Indigenous-led public health research on substance use, pain, and mental health. Discusses the benefits of culturally-relevant research. The program will be rolled out in two phases with the second phase building on the community-driven planning and pilots accomplished in the first phase.
Source: National Institutes of Health
Aug 15, 2024 - The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is seeking comments on a revision of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). For 2025, SAMHSA is proposing to change the name of the study to the National Household Survey on Behavioral Health (NHSBH) to emphasize the inclusion of mental health-related survey elements and to clarify the full content of the survey's questions and data for key stakeholders. Comments are due within 30 days of this notice.
Source: Federal Register
Aug 13, 2024 - Discusses home visitation services as a solution to lack of transportation as a barrier to healthcare, highlighting a program in rural Illinois working with families with children from birth to 5 years old. Home visitation services also offers privacy, particularly for both emergency and non-emergency mental healthcare.
Source: WCBU
Aug 6, 2024 - Highlights work by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to support farmworker health in celebration of Farmworker Appreciation Day. Release and associated fact sheet details outreach, research, technical assistance, grants, and tools related to heat, wildfire, civil rights, Migrant Health Centers, migrant mental health, H5N1, and more.
Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Aug 1, 2024 - Notice of final rule from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) adopting, with changes, a March 10, 2022, interim final rule that established a requirement for the VA to implement a three-year community-based grant program to award grants to eligible entities to provide or coordinate the provision of suicide prevention services to eligible individuals and their families for the purpose of reducing veteran suicide. This rule also summarizes comments received on the interim final rule. This rule is effective September 3, 2024.
Source: Federal Register