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Rural Health
Resources by State: Massachusetts

A Public Health Emergency: State Efforts to Curb the Opioid Crisis
Presents the U.S. House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the outcomes of public health efforts to combat the opioid crisis. Features testimony from representatives of the Rhode Island Department of Health, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, and the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
Date: 01/2020
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
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Community Health Worker Roles and Responsibilities in Rural and Urban America
Results of a study to explore community health worker (CHW) roles and responsibilities, the growing professionalization of the field, and interactions between CHWs and other healthcare providers. Uses data obtained from focus groups conducted in Florida, Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts. Provides an in-depth look at the differences between CHW work in rural and urban areas, and offers insights to support continued growth of the field.
Author(s): Timothy H. Callaghan, David J. Washburn, Cason D. Schmit, et al.
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Southwest Rural Health Research Center
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The Geography of Uninsurance in Massachusetts: An Update for 2013-2017
Identifies high-uninsurance communities in Massachusetts using three measures: uninsurance rate, number of uninsured, and concentration of uninsured. Describes socioeconomic characteristics of high-uninsurance communities and uninsured residents. Supplemental tables include data by county, county subdivision, place, and additional geographies.
Additional links: Full Report
Author(s): Michael Karpman, Dulce Gonzalez, Sharon K. Long
Date: 08/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, Urban Institute
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Rising from the Ashes: How Trauma-Informed Care Nurtures Healing in Rural America
Provides an overview of trauma-informed care and how it is provided in rural communities. Highlights the provision of trauma-informed care in a rural California community after wildfires, in a Wyoming pediatrician's clinic, and by rural nurses providing assault exams with support from experts via telehealth.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 04/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Cross-Agency Approaches to Substance Use Disorder Prevention and Treatment: National Recommendations
Provides recommendations on how state agencies can work together to prevent and treat substance use disorder, including engaging with state offices of rural health. Offers examples from 8 states and emphasizes state efforts related to opioid misuse disorder.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Strengthening Medicaid Long-term Services and Supports in an Evolving Policy Environment: A Toolkit for States
Shares strategies states can use to reform their long-term services and supports (LTSS) framework, focusing on improving LTSS in two key areas: rebalancing LTSS to increase the proportion of LTSS provided in community-based settings and integrating LTSS with physical and behavioral health services through managed care. Uses case studies to provide examples of each strategy, and discusses rural considerations throughout.
Additional links: Brief for Legislators, Summary of Reforms
Author(s): Stephanie Anthony, Arielle Traub, Sarah Lewis, et al.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Association Among County-Level Economic Factors, Clinician Supply, Metropolitan or Rural Location, and Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Highlights a study on demographic factors that correlate with neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Looks at a county's economic factors, rural status, and clinician supply in 8 different states.
Author(s): Stephen W. Patrick, Laura J. Faherty, Andrew W. Dick, et al.
Citation: JAMA, 321(4), 385-393
Date: 01/2019
Type: Document
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The Ecology of Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome
Summarizes results from an 8-state study of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), a drug withdrawal condition that may occur in newborns exposed to opioids during pregnancy. Discusses correlations to rurality, unemployment rates, poverty, and the supply of healthcare providers, and identifies potential policy interventions that could help. For interactive, county-level data, see the Simulation of County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Rates Tool based on study findings.
Additional links: Simulation of County Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) Rates Tool
Date: 2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: RAND Corporation
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State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative Evaluation: Model Test Year Five Annual Report
Fifth annual report on Round 1 of the CMS State Innovation Models (SIM) Initiative, which tests the ability of the governments in six states - Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Oregon, and Vermont - to move providers to value-based payment models (VPMs). Presents the final summary findings for SIM Round 1. Includes information specific to rural areas.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 12/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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Cross-Jurisdictional Resource Sharing in Local Health Departments: Implications for Services, Quality, and Cost
Examines Local Health Departments (LHDs) in Connecticut and Massachusetts and discusses how to increase capacity of public health systems in smaller municipalities. Analyzes 15 resource-sharing jurisdictions and 54 single-municipality jurisdictions and provides benefits and drawbacks of the 2 models. Includes data on demographic and organizational characteristics of independent and sharing municipalities including percentages of rural, suburban, and urban municipality type.
Author(s): Debbie L. Humphries, Justeen Hyde, Ethan Hahn, et al.
Citation: Frontiers in Public Health, 6(115), 1-13
Date: 04/2018
Type: Document
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