Rural Health
Resources by State: Alaska
Alaska Rural Obstetrical Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the obstetricians and advanced practice midwives workforce distribution in Alaska in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Offers maps and tables of the obstetricians and advanced practice midwives workforce distribution in Alaska in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 09/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Conducting Research That Matters to Rural Practice and Communities
Commentary describing activities designed to improve rural clinical and community engagement in research led by the Oregon Rural Practice Research Network and the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) region Practice and Research Network. Features example solutions for meaningful engagement.
Author(s): Sebastian T. Tong, Melinda M. Davis, Allison M. Cole
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 38(2), 603-606
Date: 08/2025
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Commentary describing activities designed to improve rural clinical and community engagement in research led by the Oregon Rural Practice Research Network and the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) region Practice and Research Network. Features example solutions for meaningful engagement.
Author(s): Sebastian T. Tong, Melinda M. Davis, Allison M. Cole
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 38(2), 603-606
Date: 08/2025
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New Resource Webinar: CRC Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook
Webinar introducing the ACS NCCRT Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook. Includes an overview of CRC disparities in rural communities and offers guidance for organizations working to improve CRC screening rates in their communities. Highlights successes of CRC screening programs in Alaska and Arizona administered by the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation and Mariposa Community Health Center.
Additional links: Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook, Presentation Slides
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT)
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Webinar introducing the ACS NCCRT Colorectal Cancer (CRC) Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook. Includes an overview of CRC disparities in rural communities and offers guidance for organizations working to improve CRC screening rates in their communities. Highlights successes of CRC screening programs in Alaska and Arizona administered by the Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation and Mariposa Community Health Center.
Additional links: Colorectal Cancer Screening in Rural Communities Best Practices Guidebook, Presentation Slides
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: American Cancer Society National Colorectal Cancer Roundtable (ACS NCCRT)
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Alaska Community Needs Assessment, 2025-2027
Results of a 2024-2025 series of surveys that gather household-level data on individualized, local needs in the areas of education, employment, workforce development, food security, and access to healthcare resources. Features demographics and statistics on disabilities, poverty, education level, rural housing, healthcare access, deaths of despair, substance use, and supply and demand of dental, mental health, and primary care providers.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc.
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Results of a 2024-2025 series of surveys that gather household-level data on individualized, local needs in the areas of education, employment, workforce development, food security, and access to healthcare resources. Features demographics and statistics on disabilities, poverty, education level, rural housing, healthcare access, deaths of despair, substance use, and supply and demand of dental, mental health, and primary care providers.
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc.
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Alaska Rural Behavioral Health Workforce
Offers maps and tables of the supply and distribution of behavioral health clinicians in Alaska in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Offers maps and tables of the supply and distribution of behavioral health clinicians in Alaska in 2025. Includes county-level data and rural and urban comparisons.
Author(s): S.C. Woolcock, C.H.A. Andrilla, L.A. Garberson, J.M. Graves
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: WWAMI Rural Health Research Center
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Health Care Use Preceding Suicide by Firearm Compared with Suicide by Other Means — Alaska, Colorado, and Washington, 2020–2022
Discusses use of healthcare services, including mental health services, in the year prior to suicide for those who died by firearm versus other means, based on data from three healthcare organizations in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. Includes the number of suicides by location of residence for rural, suburban, and urban areas.
Author(s): Julie E. Angerhofer, Maricela Cruz, Jennifer Shaw, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(21), 365-371
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Discusses use of healthcare services, including mental health services, in the year prior to suicide for those who died by firearm versus other means, based on data from three healthcare organizations in Alaska, Colorado, and Washington. Includes the number of suicides by location of residence for rural, suburban, and urban areas.
Author(s): Julie E. Angerhofer, Maricela Cruz, Jennifer Shaw, et al.
Citation: MMWR (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), 74(21), 365-371
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Data Sharing Lessons from Alaska: Improving a State's Process for Disclosing Data for Public Health Purposes to Tribal Public Health Organizations
Discusses data sharing agreements between Tribal-Serving Organizations and other state or local public health agencies. Examines the process of collaboration between the Alaska Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), with a focus on overcoming barriers, working through legal considerations, and lessons learned.
Author(s): Chris Alibrandi O'Connor
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Discusses data sharing agreements between Tribal-Serving Organizations and other state or local public health agencies. Examines the process of collaboration between the Alaska Division of Public Health (DPH) and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC), with a focus on overcoming barriers, working through legal considerations, and lessons learned.
Author(s): Chris Alibrandi O'Connor
Date: 06/2025
Sponsoring organization: Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
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Care Packages to Promote Universal Suicide Prevention for Remote Alaska Native Communities: What Worked?
Presents a study on the efficacy of a suicide prevention intervention aimed at teens in remote Alaska Native communities. Details the distribution of mental health and safety promotion care packages sent to participants through the mail and highlights the results of a survey of participants on the perceived success of the intervention.
Author(s): Joshua Kennedy, Lisa Wexler, Tara Schmidt, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2), e70032
Date: 05/2025
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Presents a study on the efficacy of a suicide prevention intervention aimed at teens in remote Alaska Native communities. Details the distribution of mental health and safety promotion care packages sent to participants through the mail and highlights the results of a survey of participants on the perceived success of the intervention.
Author(s): Joshua Kennedy, Lisa Wexler, Tara Schmidt, et al.
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 41(2), e70032
Date: 05/2025
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School-Based Enhanced Hearing Screening and Specialty Telehealth Follow-Up for Hearing Loss among Children in Rural Alaska: Study Protocol for a Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Stepped Wedge, Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial (North STAR Trial)
Describes a study protocol that examines the impact of providing specialty hearing care for students in rural Alaska following standard school hearing screenings. Focuses on trial objectives, design, setting, participants, recruitment, data collection, and planned statistical analyses.
Author(s): Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Janet Prvu Bettger, Elizabeth Turner, et al.
Citation: Trials, 26, 175
Date: 05/2025
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Describes a study protocol that examines the impact of providing specialty hearing care for students in rural Alaska following standard school hearing screenings. Focuses on trial objectives, design, setting, participants, recruitment, data collection, and planned statistical analyses.
Author(s): Samantha Kleindienst Robler, Janet Prvu Bettger, Elizabeth Turner, et al.
Citation: Trials, 26, 175
Date: 05/2025
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Modular Decentralized Water System Associated With Improved Child Health and Increased In-Home Water Use in Remote Alaska Native Communities
Explores the health effects of using Miniature Portable Alternative Sanitation Systems (Mini-PASS) on children 12 years old and younger in tribal communities in Alaska. Discusses Mini-PASS as an affordable option for communities that require a decentralized water system that doesn't require piping or sewer. Highlights the health and sanitation benefits such a system can bring to these communities.
Author(s): Amanda Hansen, Gretchen Day, Marla Wehrli, Laura Eichelberger
Citation: Journal of Water and Health, 23(3), 364–372.
Date: 03/2025
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Explores the health effects of using Miniature Portable Alternative Sanitation Systems (Mini-PASS) on children 12 years old and younger in tribal communities in Alaska. Discusses Mini-PASS as an affordable option for communities that require a decentralized water system that doesn't require piping or sewer. Highlights the health and sanitation benefits such a system can bring to these communities.
Author(s): Amanda Hansen, Gretchen Day, Marla Wehrli, Laura Eichelberger
Citation: Journal of Water and Health, 23(3), 364–372.
Date: 03/2025
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