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Rural Health Information Hub

Other Case Studies and Collections of Program Examples: Substance use and misuse

In addition to RHIhub's Rural Health Models and Innovations rural program examples, you may also want to browse other case studies, databases, and websites with collections of health programs.

Each resource listed below uses its own criteria for selecting program examples, which may range from programs known to be effective based on research to anecdotal accounts. In each resource, you may want to review information on the level of evidence required for a program's inclusion.

May include non-rural programs that could be applicable to rural health delivery.

A Federally Qualified Health Center and Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic Partnership in Rural Missouri
Case study describing a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program partnership between a Federally Qualified Health Center and a certified community behavioral health clinic in rural southwest Missouri. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers interested in a similar partnership.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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El Dorado Community Health Centers: Addressing the Opioid Epidemic in Rural California through Community Partnerships
Case study describing how El Dorado Community Health Centers, a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) in California, works with a community coalition to address the opioid epidemic and implement a medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) program. Covers the infrastructure of the MOUD program, staffing and services, financing, and more. Highlights challenges and successes, as well as recommendations for other health centers.
Author(s): Ashley Jasko, Meryl Schulman
Date: 01/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Filling the Gaps: Program Builds Referral and Recovery Services in Western Massachusetts
Features a rural Massachusetts coalition's work to address substance misuse and build sustainable recovery services, with support from the Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP). Discusses youth outreach and engagement, stigma reduction activities, facilitating access to services, and more.
Author(s): Kay Miller Temple
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 11/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Culturally Responsive Pathways to Peer Programming in Tribal Communities
Discusses best practices for the use of peer recovery support services (PRSS) for addiction recovery in American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. Includes a culturally competent adaptation of the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM) and offers evidence-based case studies.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Bureau of Justice Assistance, U.S. Department of Justice
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Small Rural Hospital Helps Build 'Bridge' to Addiction Services with New Mobile Clinic
A case study that describes a behavioral health program in rural Massachusetts that created a bridge team who provides prevention, treatment, and recovery services outside of hospital facilities for those with opioid used disorder (OUD).
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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How One New Mexico County is Taking a Community-Wide Approach to Treating Alcohol and Substance Use Disorders
Features a McKinley County, New Mexico community consortium that takes a holistic approach to recovery. Discusses the need for cultural understanding of Native culture in providing treatment services. Describes the growth of the collaboration over time and the range of local organizations involved.
Author(s): Gretel Kauffman
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 02/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Parent Partners Provide Mentoring and Support in Rural Iowa
Features a statewide program in Iowa that pairs families whose children have been removed from the home with mentors with shared experience who have successfully navigated the state's Department of Human Services system. Describes the services that mentors provide: coaching, advocating, and connecting clients with community resources.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 03/2022
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Faith in Recovery Coalition Offers Hope for Opioid Use Disorder in Fayette County, Ohio
Highlights the Pathways to Recovery program, which works to address opioid use disorder in rural Ohio. Efforts include educating providers and law enforcement, overdose prevention, harm reduction, and recovery support from Peer Support Specialists.
Author(s): Kathryn Rutz
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 06/2021
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Wabanaki Public Health Serves Native People, Community, and Culture During COVID-19 Crisis
Features a Maine public health agency that serves five tribal communities and has used federal funding to address a wide range of health issues, including responding to issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses initiatives focused on food access, support for elders, and substance use treatment.
Author(s): Kathryn Rutz
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Rural Community Action Guide: Building Stronger, Healthy, Drug-Free Rural Communities
Provides an overview of challenges rural communities face related to substance use disorder (SUD), including prescription opioid misuse. Identifies action steps rural communities can take related to prevention, treatment, recovery, and SUD-related issues such as stigma, transportation barriers, and lack of employment opportunities. Features programs that are working to address these issues in rural communities.
Additional links: Promising Practices Supplement
Date: 01/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of National Drug Control Policy
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