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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan: Draft for Public Comment
Draft of the 2024-2030 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan, which will serve as a guide for federal health information technology (HIT) activities. Outlines four goals and related objectives focused on improving access to electronic health information (EHI); delivering a better, more equitable healthcare experience; and modernizing the public health infrastructure. Describes how the federal government will use the plan to prioritize resources within federal agencies, align and coordinate federal HIT initiatives, signal priorities to the private sector, and benchmark and assess the progress of federal HIT initiatives.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Health Care Contact Days Among Older Cancer Survivors
Analyzes factors associated with healthcare contact days among older adult cancer survivors using the 2019 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) and linked Medicare claims data. Evaluates the effect of demographics, self-rated health, care-seeking behaviors, rural status, and more.
Author(s): Arjun Gupta, Emma D. Chant, Supriya Mohile, et al.
Citation: JCO Oncology Practice
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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National Aging and Disability Transportation Center 2023 Innovations Showcase
Offers descriptions, lessons learned, replication advice, and contact information for 14 transportation projects across the country. Projects cover accessibility, coordination, cross jurisdictional boundaries, equity, healthcare access, and technology. Includes rural projects in Virginia and Massachusetts.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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Satisfaction with Care among Cancer Survivors with Medicare Coverage: Are there Rural Versus Urban Inequities?
Analyzes rural and urban satisfaction with a variety of aspects of healthcare among cancer survivors, including convenience of getting to providers and ability to meet all healthcare needs at a single location. Utilizes 2020 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey data adjusted for demographic factors, health insurance, and overall health.
Author(s): Tyrone F. Borders
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 15
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Bridging the Rural-Urban Divide: An Implementation Plan for Leveraging Technology and Artificial Intelligence to Improve Health and Economic Outcomes in Rural America
Commentary providing an overview of rural health disparities and the healthcare needs of rural communities. Discusses ways technology and artificial intelligence may offer needed services. Presents models and infrastructure necessary to implement improvements.
Author(s): William B Weeks, Justin Spelhaug, James N Weinstein, Juan M Lavista Ferres
Citation: Journal of Rural Health
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Racial, Ethnic, and Rural Disparities in Distance to Physicians among Decedents with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in Washington State
Evaluates travel distance to the nearest neurologist and primary care physician among people whose cause of death was related to Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) in the state of Washington. Utilizes 2011-2021 mortality data. Includes breakdowns of distance to care by race, ethnicity, and level of rurality. Highlights geographic access disparities experienced by American Indian, Alaska Native, and Hispanic people.
Author(s): Solmaz Amiri, Jonae I. Keffeler, Dennis R. Crain, Justin T. Denney, Dedra Buchwald
Citation: Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2024, 1-8
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Communities: Perspectives from Key Informant Interviews
Policy brief discusses the challenges faces by victims and survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) seeking support services in rural communities. Bases findings on interviews with staff members from IPV victim support and advocacy organizations and highlights areas for organizations to improve support services for rural IPV victims and survivors.
Author(s): Alyssa H. Fritz, Emily C. Sheffield, Phoebe L. Chastain, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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The State of Georgia's Healthcare System
Fact sheet on income-based gaps in healthcare coverage in Georgia. Provides county-level maps and data on areas with the most significant coverage gaps, economic impacts of uninsured population, rural hospital and provider shortages, and more.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI)
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American Clusters: Using Machine Learning to Understand Health and Health Care Disparities in the United States
Demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of using machine learning (ML) to identify social determinants of health, healthcare access, healthcare infrastructure, and geography factors contributing to health inequalities. Discusses use of ML in policy, with different levels of geography, and in future research.
Author(s): Diane M. Bowser, Kaili Maurico, Brielle A. Ruscitti, William H. Crown
Citation: Health Affairs Scholar, 2(3)
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
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Prevent or Treat: Availability of Diabetes Self-Management Education and Dialysis in High Need Rural Counties
Discusses availability of diabetes self-management education (DSME) and dialysis to treat end stage kidney disease in rural areas. Features county-level maps showing estimated proportion of the adult population with diabetes, counties with at least one DSME program, and DSME availability and county diabetes prevalence. Includes statistics on relationship between DSME availability within a county and estimated percent of adults with diabetes by rurality, as of 2022.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Nicholas Yell, Gabriel Benavidez, et al.
Date: 03/2024
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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