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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Identifying Local Facilitators and Barriers to Screening Mammography Within a Rural Acute Care Hospital Service Area
Examines facilitators and barriers to breast cancer screening among rural Wisconsin women aged 40 and older, utilizing interview data from 11 hospital staff and 21 community members. Includes data on screening utilization and related behaviors, and provides interview excerpts to illustrate common factors affecting access.
Author(s): Cibele B. Carroll, Amye J. Tevaarwerk, Mary F. Henningfield, et al.
Citation: Wisconsin Medical Journal, 123(4), 259-266
Date: 09/2024
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Challenges and Opportunities in Rural Health Care: Chelsea Lensing
A video recording of a podcast episode that discusses mental healthcare access in rural Iowa. Features Chelsea Lensing, economics professor at Coe College in Iowa, who studies disparities in healthcare access in rural versus urban populations. Transcript available below video.
Author(s): Paul Yeager, Chelsea Lensing
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Iowa PBS
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Lessons for Future Pandemics: Temporal Evolution and Rural-Urban Variations in the Impacts of the COVID-19 on Opioid Use Treatment
Presents a study highlighting the lessons learned from opioid use treatment programs operating during the COVID-19 pandemic. Explores the impact of the pandemic on treatment services. Discusses the use of telehealth for both counseling and medication prescribing, as well as the challenges faced by patients trying to obtain treatment during the pandemic.
Author(s): Zhongyang He, Jonathan M. Heess, Travis Young, Zhen Lei
Citation: PLoS ONE, 19(9), e0310386
Date: 09/2024
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Nursing Home Certificate of Need Moratoria During the COVID-19 Pandemic Had Little Impact on Access
Analyzes certificate of need (CON) moratoria and healthcare supply of skilled nursing facility (SNF) beds during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizes 2015-2021 SNF cost report data to provide information on states that implemented CON moratoria, differences by rural versus urban counties, and impact on SNF bed supply.
Author(s): Anthony Yu, Christopher Whaley
Citation: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 61
Date: 09/2024
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Youth Mental Health: Where Rural Families Can Find Help Now
Provides an overview of mental health struggles in adolescents, with a focus on the impact of mental health workforce shortages in rural areas of Minnesota. Discusses opportunities to address issues through education, prevention, and mental health access via primary care or schools.
Author(s): Marnie Werner
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Policy and Development
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Communications and Technology Subcommittee Hearing: "From Introduction to Implementation: A BEAD Program Progress Report"
Recording of a September 10, 2024, House Energy & Commerce Committee Communications and Technology Subcommittee hearing on the status and progress of implementing the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program. Features testimony from Shirley Bloomfield, Chief Executive Officer of NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association.
Additional links: Shirley Bloomfield, NTCA – The Rural Broadband Association - Testimony
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
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NHPCO Facts and Figures: 2024 Edition
Provides an overview of hospice and palliative care in the United States. Includes information and data on patient characteristics, access to care, reimbursement, barriers and facilitators to care, quality of care, and more. Includes data on geographic locations of hospice services and patients.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organizations: National Alliance for Care at Home, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
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Nowhere to Go: Maternity Care Deserts Across the U.S. 2024
Explores maternal healthcare access and provides county-level U.S. maps that show maternity care deserts, hospitals that offer obstetric (OB) care, distribution of OB providers, travel time to maternity care, chronic conditions of birthing people, social drivers of health, and more. Includes rural versus urban characteristics of the maternal health workforce as well as access and policy discussions specific to rural areas.
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: March of Dimes
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Improving HPV Vaccination Coverage in The Last Frontier Takes a Community-Centered Approach
Discusses the Alaska Cancer Partnership's efforts to support human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination through community partnerships and the Alaska HPV Vaccination Month campaign. Details initiatives focused on rural, tribal, and youth vaccination access and awareness.
Author(s): Jessica Quinn
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
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Prescription Medication Use, Coverage, and Nonadherence Among Adults Age 65 and Older: United States, 2021–2022
Reports on medication use, prescription drug insurance coverage, and nonadherence due to cost for older adults between 2021 and 2022. Includes data breakdown of various demographic and health status characteristics including 4 levels of urbanization.
Author(s): Robin A. Cohen, Laryssa Mykyta
Date: 09/2024
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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