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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

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
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
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
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
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
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, sex, 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
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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
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Oral Health Status of Low-Income Children in Pennsylvania: A Rural-Urban Comparison
Describes research examining the oral health component of the Medical Assistance (MA) program for Pennsylvania children, additional oral health programs and services, the supply and distribution of Pennsylvania dentists, and the overall oral healthcare delivery system for low-income children in rural Pennsylvania. Features statistics including the number of general dentists and specialists who were active MA providers as of 2017, with breakdowns by urban or rural location, and a county-level map showing low-income Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas by rural status as of 2018.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Lisa Davis, Kelly Braun, Myron R. Schwartz
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Pennsylvania
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Community-Driven Strategies to Address Stigma and Build Healthier Communities in Maine
Describes 3 communities working to reduce stigma in order to create equitable systems that enhance the health and well-being of Maine residents. Presents community responses to reducing stigma, common themes, and implications for complex system change initiatives in health.
Author(s): Susan Foster, Teresa Doksum
Date: 11/2019
Sponsoring organization: Maine Health Access Foundation
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Partnership Integration for Rural Health Resource Access
Describes an interdisciplinary partnership model combining nursing, public health, and gerontology to address the health and social challenges affecting older adults living in rural areas. Offers steps for developing an interdisciplinary partnership and highlights a model utilizing clinical and non-clinical disciplines to improve rural health resource access.
Author(s): Teresa Sharp, Joyce Weil, Audrey Snyder, et al.
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 19(4), 5335
Date: 11/2019
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