Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access
Access to Specialty Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Communities
Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff, from 27 states, to identify the most difficult specialty healthcare service to access, and why it is the most difficult to access. Conducts an analysis of RHC distance to the nearest hospital or clinic to determine variation in difficulty accessing specialty services.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Hannah Neprash, Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana S. Tuttle, Ashley M. Hernandez
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff, from 27 states, to identify the most difficult specialty healthcare service to access, and why it is the most difficult to access. Conducts an analysis of RHC distance to the nearest hospital or clinic to determine variation in difficulty accessing specialty services.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Hannah Neprash, Carrie Henning-Smith, Mariana S. Tuttle, Ashley M. Hernandez
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Access and Capacity to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries in Rural Health Clinics
Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff from 27 states, to better understand how they address issues on accessibility, capacity, flexibility of services, and other clinic characteristics for Medicare beneficiaries, and to identify any gaps in healthcare.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley M. Hernandez, Hannah Neprash
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Findings from a voluntary online survey conducted in 2019 of 111 Rural Health Clinic (RHC) staff from 27 states, to better understand how they address issues on accessibility, capacity, flexibility of services, and other clinic characteristics for Medicare beneficiaries, and to identify any gaps in healthcare.
Author(s): Megan Lahr, Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley M. Hernandez, Hannah Neprash
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Making Community Health Workers (CHWs) Fundamental: New Research Strengthens the Case for State Policymakers to Include CHWs in Care Delivery Teams
Summarizes key findings from previous Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded studies in 9 states on Community Health Workers (CHWs) interventions and their effect on diverse ethnic, racial, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, including rural. Offers evidence-based recommendations to help state policymakers integrate CHWs into healthcare delivery teams to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of healthcare for individuals and populations.
Author(s): Denisse Sanchez, Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, Eliot Fishman
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Summarizes key findings from previous Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) funded studies in 9 states on Community Health Workers (CHWs) interventions and their effect on diverse ethnic, racial, socioeconomic and geographic backgrounds, including rural. Offers evidence-based recommendations to help state policymakers integrate CHWs into healthcare delivery teams to improve health outcomes and reduce the cost of healthcare for individuals and populations.
Author(s): Denisse Sanchez, Sinsi Hernández-Cancio, Eliot Fishman
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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The Value Initiative Members in Action: Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center - Lebanon, N.H
Describes how the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center partners with rural and community hospitals to provide telehealth specialty care services across northern New England through the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Connected Care program. Discusses clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction with the telehealth programs. Examines how telehealth services impact staffing and services offered in small and rural hospitals.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Describes how the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center partners with rural and community hospitals to provide telehealth specialty care services across northern New England through the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Connected Care program. Discusses clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction with the telehealth programs. Examines how telehealth services impact staffing and services offered in small and rural hospitals.
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Rural-Urban Differences in Access to and Attitudes Toward Care for Medicare Beneficiaries
Results of a study using data from the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to analyze differences between rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in terms of travel time to usual provider, access barriers, and attitudes toward seeking care.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley M. Hernandez, Megan Lahr
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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Results of a study using data from the 2016 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey to analyze differences between rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries in terms of travel time to usual provider, access barriers, and attitudes toward seeking care.
Author(s): Carrie Henning-Smith, Ashley M. Hernandez, Megan Lahr
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: University of Minnesota Rural Health Research Center
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CDFIs 'Make Dreams Come True' by Creating Opportunity in Rural Spaces
Describes the role that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) can play in helping rural areas gain access to flexible financing options to support rural health projects. Highlights how the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Healthcare Georgia Foundation work with CDFIs to help address rural health concerns. Also features a CDFI recipient of Uplift America, the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, that has helped support a health professions high school.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Describes the role that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) can play in helping rural areas gain access to flexible financing options to support rural health projects. Highlights how the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and Healthcare Georgia Foundation work with CDFIs to help address rural health concerns. Also features a CDFI recipient of Uplift America, the South Carolina Community Loan Fund, that has helped support a health professions high school.
Author(s): Jenn Lukens
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Differences in Select Measures of Health Care Access, Utilization, and Financial Burden by Urbanicity, 2017
Examines healthcare access, utilization, and financial burden among adults aged 18-64 living in large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), small MSAs, and nonmetro (rural) areas. Includes both unadjusted data and data adjusted to focus on the effects of urbanicity by accounting for potential sociodemographic or health characteristics that might impact access.
Author(s): Emily P. Terlizzi, Robin A. Cohen
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Examines healthcare access, utilization, and financial burden among adults aged 18-64 living in large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), small MSAs, and nonmetro (rural) areas. Includes both unadjusted data and data adjusted to focus on the effects of urbanicity by accounting for potential sociodemographic or health characteristics that might impact access.
Author(s): Emily P. Terlizzi, Robin A. Cohen
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Veterans Health Care: Services for Substance Use Disorders, and Efforts to Address Access Issues in Rural Areas
Identifies and compares the differences in the number of veterans, and the expenditures for veterans receiving substance use disorder (SUD) services, and specialty SUD services in rural and urban areas. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies were reviewed, interviews were conducted with agency officials, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data from 2014 to 2018 was analyzed to develop the report.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Identifies and compares the differences in the number of veterans, and the expenditures for veterans receiving substance use disorder (SUD) services, and specialty SUD services in rural and urban areas. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) policies were reviewed, interviews were conducted with agency officials, and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data from 2014 to 2018 was analyzed to develop the report.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 12/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Self-Identified Barriers to Rural Mental Health Services in Iowa by Older Adults with Multiple Comorbidities: Qualitative Interview Study
Highlights a study on the perceived barriers to mental healthcare for chronically ill elders in rural Iowa. Bases finding on phone interviews with participants where they detailed their experiences accessing mental healthcare. Breaks down data by age, gender, and mental health diagnosis, among other factors.
Author(s): Lauren Elizabeth Pass, Korey Kennelty, Barry L Carter
Citation: BMJ Open, 9(11), e029976
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
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Highlights a study on the perceived barriers to mental healthcare for chronically ill elders in rural Iowa. Bases finding on phone interviews with participants where they detailed their experiences accessing mental healthcare. Breaks down data by age, gender, and mental health diagnosis, among other factors.
Author(s): Lauren Elizabeth Pass, Korey Kennelty, Barry L Carter
Citation: BMJ Open, 9(11), e029976
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
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Area Deprivation as a Risk Factor for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection in Pediatric Cystic Fibrosis
Examines the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection (MRSA) in children with cystic fibrosis, studying the relationship between MRSA rates and socio-environmental conditions. Analyzes statistical data of patients in Alabama, comparing rurality and area deprivation to rates of MRSA. Discusses the rates of infection in rural and underserved areas as a consideration for prevention and treatment strategies.
Author(s): Gabriela R. Oates, William T. Harris, Steven M. Rowe, et al.
Citation: The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 38(11), e285-e289
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
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Examines the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infection (MRSA) in children with cystic fibrosis, studying the relationship between MRSA rates and socio-environmental conditions. Analyzes statistical data of patients in Alabama, comparing rurality and area deprivation to rates of MRSA. Discusses the rates of infection in rural and underserved areas as a consideration for prevention and treatment strategies.
Author(s): Gabriela R. Oates, William T. Harris, Steven M. Rowe, et al.
Citation: The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal, 38(11), e285-e289
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
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