Rural Project Examples: The South
Evidence-Based Examples
UAMS IDHI High-Risk Pregnancy Program
Updated/reviewed November 2020
Updated/reviewed November 2020
- Need: Arkansas had high rates of low birthweight babies, and pregnant individuals in rural areas had difficulty accessing specialty obstetric care.
- Intervention: The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences created the IDHI High-Risk Pregnancy Program to increase access to care for pregnant individuals in an effort to improve outcomes for high-risk pregnancies.
- Results: The program has increased access to care and reduced infant mortality for rural Arkansas individuals through a variety of programs and has been recognized by various organizations as a model program.
Effective Examples
Patient Care Connect
Updated/reviewed December 2017
Updated/reviewed December 2017
- Need: Cancer patients living in the Deep South encounter multiple barriers in accessing regular cancer treatment.
- Intervention: The University of Alabama at Birmingham Comprehensive Cancer Center developed a program that uses lay patient navigators to support and direct patients to appropriate resources to overcome barriers to accessing care.
- Results: The program has become a model for improving cancer care quality, decreasing unnecessary utilization (ER visits and hospitalizations), removing barriers to care, and enhancing patient satisfaction.
Other Project Examples
NC-REACH: NC-Rurally Engaging and Assisting Clients who are HIV positive and HomelessUpdated/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.