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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by State: North Carolina

Assessing the Impact of Medicaid Telehealth Policy Change on Equitable Access to Telehealth Services in North Carolina
Describes the evolution of North Carolina's Medicaid telehealth coverage and reimbursement policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Discusses the impact of these policies on access to care. Compares data on telehealth claims by volume and as a percentage of total claims by race and rural-urban residence between March 2020 and December 2022.
Author(s): Shannon Dowler, Sam Thompson, Michelle Savuto, Jacqueline Marks-Smith, Jared Augenstein
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Milbank Memorial Fund
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"This Is Not My Grandmother's Summer": Rural Populations Are Uniquely Vulnerable to the Health Impacts of Extreme Heat
Discusses the challenges rural areas face in helping address the impact of heat on health. Includes strategies used in rural North Carolina, Indiana, and Washington State to help inform and protect rural residents, including those exposed to heat through work outdoors.
Author(s): Brendan Stermer
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Addressing Social Needs through Medicaid: Lessons from Planning and Early Implementation of North Carolina's Healthy Opportunities Pilots
Results of a study to generate findings and recommendations from the planning, capacity-building, and early implementation of the Healthy Opportunities Pilots program. Focuses on the health-related social needs of North Carolina Medicaid enrollees living in three primarily rural regions of the state.
Author(s): Katie M. Huber, William K. Bleser, Rebecca G. Whiteaker, et al.
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, Milbank Memorial Fund
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Evaluation of the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model: Final Report
Evaluates the Home Health Value-Based Purchasing (HHVBP) Model, which tests the impact of providing financial incentives to home health agencies in nine states: Arizona, Florida, Iowa, Massachusetts, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Washington. Examines how the financial incentives under the model influenced agency behavior. Describes impacts across key outcomes, including service utilization, quality of care, and patient experience, and examines the model's effects on access to care, health equity, and Medicare spending. Explores whether the model had unique impacts on access to home health care in rural areas.
Additional links: Appendices, Findings at a Glance
Date: 09/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Arbor Research Collaborative for Health, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, L&M Policy Research
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A Road Map for Asset Based Investing in Central Appalachia
Report highlighting various wellbeing and community asset measures in the Appalachian region in the areas of economics, population health, infrastructure, housing, health facilities, and more. Discusses the associations between wellbeing and community assets as well as the implications for investment.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Community and Economic Development Initiative of Kentucky, Reinvestment Fund
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Acceptability and Readiness to Promote Human Papillomavirus Vaccination at Ages 9–10 Years: A Feasibility Study among North Carolina Clinics
Examines the recommendation of vaccinating against the human papillomavirus (HPV) in children 9-10 years old. Analyzes feedback from providers in 2 rural North Carolina primary clinics about their perceptions regarding this recommendation.
Author(s): Nadja A. Vielot, Robyn M. Lane, Kaitlyn Loefstedt, et al.
Citation: Pilot and Feasibility Studies, 9,153
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
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Racial and Rural-Urban Disparities in Maternal Cardiac Disease Care in North Carolina: A Call to Action
Analyzes cardiac-specific severe maternal morbidity of rural and urban, as well as Black and White, populations using data from the 2019 North Carolina State Inpatient Database. Provides statistics on delivery hospitalizations in North Carolina, including births with preexisting maternal cardiac disease, maternal cardiac disease outcomes, and patient characteristics. Discusses disparities in comorbidities, cardiac categories, and health outcomes.
Author(s): Julia M. Moyett, Linda M. Zambrano Guevara, Divya P. Mallampati, et al.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 84(4), 249-256
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Leveraging Policy Changes Made in Response to COVID-19 to Advance Telehealth and Novel Treatment Approaches for People Who Use Opioids: Qualitative Perspective from Two Rural North Carolina Communities
Results of interviews with 10 providers of healthcare and supportive services for people who use opioids in rural counties in North Carolina. Discusses topics including COVID-19's influence on telehealth, models for opioid treatment delivery in rural areas, and common barriers to service access. Identifies strategies for facilitating services in rural areas, including expanded telehealth access and implementation of other service delivery models.
Author(s): Hillary Chen, Brandon A. Knettel, Lisa Macon Harrison, et al.
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 84(5), 54-60
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
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Appalachian Diseases of Despair
Provides information on Appalachian mortality disparities due to overdose, suicide, and alcoholic liver disease/cirrhosis among people ages 15-64. Utilizes data from the 2021 Multiple Cause of Death database broken down by Appalachian state, region, gender, and metropolitan or nonmetropolitan status.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, East Tennessee State University Center for Rural Health Research, NORC Walsh Center for Rural Health Analysis
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North Carolina Office of Rural Health Service Points and Coverage Map SFY 2023
County-level map of service points receiving North Carolina Office of Rural Health support. Includes Critical Access Hospitals, Community Health Grantees, Rural Health Centers, Small Rural Hospitals, and more.
Date: 06/2023
Type: Map/Mapping System
Sponsoring organization: North Carolina Office of Rural Health
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