Rural Project Examples: Behavioral health
Effective Examples
University of Vermont Medical Center's Nursing Home Telepsychiatry Service
Updated/reviewed September 2021
Updated/reviewed September 2021
- Need: To improve the health status and access for rural nursing home patients in need of mental health services.
- Intervention: The University of Vermont Medical Center provides telepsychiatry care and education to nursing homes in communities that face shortages of mental health professionals.
- Results: These telepsychiatry consultations have eased the burden on nursing home residents by saving travel time, distance, and money it takes to travel to the nearest tertiary facility.

Updated/reviewed November 2020
- Need: Provision of medical care access and follow-up for rural North Carolina HIV patients with mental health, substance abuse, and unstable housing/homelessness challenges.
- Intervention: Medical home staff model expanded to a care coordination program with a core Network Navigator and Continuum of Care Coordinator assisting with medical, behavioral health, and basic life needs.
- Results: To date, the program has advanced three aspects of medical home patient care for this target population: provided further understanding of the spectrum of homelessness, including "hidden" homelessness; implemented outreach with creation of new community partnerships and a community housing coalition; and integrated medical care and behavioral health care for HIV.

Updated/reviewed September 2020
- Need: To improve awareness of behavioral and mental health issues by students in rural, east central Mississippi.
- Intervention: An intensive community mental health outreach program was implemented for students in rural Mississippi.
- Results: As of 2018 and on a yearly basis, 6,000 7th and 8th grade students receive mental health education on a variety of topics which improves their ability to recognize mental health issues, high risk behaviors, and their self-concept.
Vermont Hub-and-Spoke Model of Care for Opioid Use Disorder
Updated/reviewed August 2020
Updated/reviewed August 2020
- Need: Increase access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder in rural Vermont.
- Intervention: Statewide hub-and-spoke treatment access system.
- Results: Increased treatment capacity and care coordination.
Midcoast Maine Prescription Opioid Reduction Program
Updated/reviewed May 2020
Updated/reviewed May 2020
- Need: Reduction in the number of emergency department dental patients abusing opioid prescriptions in rural southeastern Maine.
- Intervention: Using a one-page opioid prescription guideline, opioid prescribing and emergency room visits for dental pain decreased.
- Results: The rate of opioid prescription dropped nearly 20% after implementation, and in comparing the 12-month period before and after implementation, dental pain emergency department visits decreased from 26 to 21 per 1,000.
Strong African American Families-Teen Program
Updated/reviewed April 2019
Updated/reviewed April 2019
- Need: There is a lack of interventions that addresses teenager behavioral problems, particularly for rural African American adolescents.
- Intervention: Rural, locally trained leaders administered five 2-hour meetings for teenagers and their primary caregivers. Trainings focused on reducing risks that prevent positive development, specifically sexual risk-taking that can lead to HIV and other STIs.
- Results: Teens reported reduced conduct problems, depressive symptoms, and substance abuse. Families were strengthened, and SAAF-T reduced unprotected intercourse and increased condom efficacy.
Promising Examples


Updated/reviewed December 2022
- Need: To improve the health of communities in the south central region of New Mexico.
- Intervention: A program was developed to specifically address diabetes prevention and control, behavioral healthcare, and immunization in Luna County.
- Results: During the program, 1,500 immunizations were distributed, baseline measurements of participants improved, and 935 new patients were seen for behavioral health issues.

Updated/reviewed November 2022
- Need: To properly address and treat patients who have concurrent substance use and chronic healthcare issues.
- Intervention: A referral system utilizes community health workers (CHWs) in a drug and alcohol treatment setting. A registered nurse helps with providers' medication-assisted treatment programs.
- Results: This program has reduced hospital emergency visits and hospital readmissions for patients since its inception.

Updated/reviewed August 2022
- Need: To provide mental health services to rural Kansas students and their families.
- Intervention: The Schools That Care project provides mental health treatment and case management as well as community education events.
- Results: From 2018 to 2021, 3,456 individuals participated in health education and counseling activities offered to the public, and 964 individuals and 303 families received direct services through the Family Advocate.
Contingency Management Smoking Cessation in Appalachia
Updated/reviewed June 2022
Updated/reviewed June 2022
- Need: To reduce smoking rates of pregnant women and adolescents in Appalachian regions of eastern Kentucky and Ohio.
- Intervention: A web-based smoking cessation program that offered monetary incentives to reducing smoking.
- Results: Participants significantly reduced smoking rates or quit altogether.
For examples from other sources, see: