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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

A Holistic Approach to Maternal Health in Rural Indiana
Discusses the Healthy Start Communities that C.A.R.E. (HSCC) program that utilizes family nurse practitioners (FNPs) and a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW) to serve women in 4 rural counties in Indiana. Provides commentary on the program, such as reducing access barriers, utilizing bilingual healthcare practitioners, providing mental health support and trauma-informed care, and more. Transcript available below description.
Author(s): Heather M. Grable, Joanah Wischmeier, Kasia Jayjack
Date: 09/2021
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Who Will Answer the Call? An Abstract of Challenges Facing Michigan's Rural EMS Agencies
Provides an overview of challenges experienced by Michigan's rural emergency medical services (EMS) agencies, such as reimbursement, access to care, recruitment and retention, workforce shortages and training, and more.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Rural Subcommittee of the EMS Coordinating Committee
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2021 Maryland Primary Care Needs Assessment
Identifies areas of focus for primary, dental, and mental healthcare and services in Maryland. Includes sections on Health Professional Shortage Areas, Medically Underserved Areas and Populations, Federally Qualified Health Centers, the J-1 Visa Waiver program, and the State Loan Repayment Program.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Maryland Department of Health
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Rural Adolescent Immunization: Delivery Practices and Barriers to Uptake
Examines rural barriers to adolescent vaccination, including logistic issues and parental vaccine attitudes, based on data from surveys of Colorado clinicians in June-August 2019. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban or rural location and provider specialty.
Author(s): Jessica R. Cataldi, Sarah E. Brewer, Cathryn Perreira, et al.
Citation: Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 34(5), 937-949
Date: 09/2021
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Inequities in the Geographic Accessibility of COVID-19 Biomedical Therapeutic Trials in the United States
Research report examining geographic proximity to COVID-19 biomedical therapeutic trial sites, breaking down U.S. clinical trial data by rural/urban location, age, and race/ethnicity. Charts depict drive times to trial sites for each demographic group, comparing rural and urban populations.
Author(s): Rohan Khazanchi, Samuel D. Powers, Elizabeth T. Rogawski McQuade, Kathleen A. McManus
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine
Date: 09/2021
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An Evaluation of Telehealth Use by Medicare Beneficiaries in 2020
Research brief examining telehealth use for outpatient evaluation and management from January 2019 to December 2020 based on a 20% sample of fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries. Charts monthly trends for in-person and telehealth visits and compares rural and urban telehealth use, offering policy implications related to rural access to services.
Author(s): Chad Ellimoottil, Ziwei Zhu, Rod Dunn, et al.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation
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Reenvisioning Rural America
Examines census tracts designated as micropolitan, small town, and isolated rural by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural-Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) code system, offering a typology of tracts based on assets and strengths. Organizes rural census tracts into categories including accessible, energy-rich hubs; high-employment agricultural areas; centers of wealth and health; and more. Includes a data map with information on each category of rural census tract and population, government, and geographic information for each tract.
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Urban Institute
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Introducing Clinical Pharmacy Specialists into Interprofessional Primary Care Teams
Examines the integration of clinical pharmacy specialists as part of the interprofessional primary care team and in the Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Rural Veteran Access (CRVA) initiative to determine impacts on healthcare access for rural patients.
Author(s): Megan B. McCullough, Anna Zogas, Chris Gillespie, et al.
Citation: Medicine (Baltimore), 100(38), e26689
Date: 09/2021
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Restoring Access to Maternity Care in Rural America
Examines regional partnerships to build rural access to maternity care through hub-and-spoke models of education and support from urban healthcare organizations to rural maternity providers, investments in telehealth, and remote monitoring systems. Discusses barriers to maternity care access in rural areas and highlights local examples of maternal health provider networks, investments in the rural maternity workforce, and policy implications of developing rural maternity care.
Author(s): Martha Hostetter, Sarah Klein
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Commonwealth Fund
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Obstacles Persist for Rural Patients to Access Hospice
Discusses challenges to delivering hospice care in rural areas. Highlights changes to allow providers at Rural Health Centers and Federal Qualified Health Centers to serve as attending physicians for hospice patients. Explores the impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of hospice services, including the use of telehealth services and workforce concerns.
Author(s): Jim Parker
Date: 09/2021
Sponsoring organization: Hospice News
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