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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Strengthening the Workforce to Improve Pregnancy Outcomes in Rural Areas
Highlights rural workforce initiatives related to maternity and childbirth services and discusses strategies to improve rural pregnancy outcomes. Features a training program at a Critical Access Hospital in Alaska and a rural OB-GYN residency program in Wisconsin.
Author(s): Allee Mead
Citation: Rural Monitor
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
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Telepsychiatry Program: Children's Hospital and Medical Center
Describes the development, impact, lessons learned, and future goals of a telepsychiatry program designed to provide behavioral healthcare services to children in rural Nebraska.
Date: 07/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
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Investing in Rural America: Bringing Progress and Economic Opportunity to Rural Communities
Provides an overview of the state of the rural economy, as well as policy proposals to revitalize rural communities. Chapter 4 covers rural infrastructure, including broadband, and chapter 7 discusses access to affordable healthcare in rural areas.
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Democrats
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Comparison of Access to Eye Care Appointments Between Patients with Medicaid and Those with Private Health Care Insurance
Explores if patients with Medicaid and private health insurance in Maryland and Michigan experience differences in access to eye care appointments. Includes information on the rate at which appointments were obtained for patients and the length of appointment wait times by a variety of factors, including for urban and rural patients.
Author(s): Yoon H. Lee, Andrew X. Chen, Varshini Varadaraj, et al.
Citation: JAMA Ophthalmology, 136(6), 622-629
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
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Examining Urban and Rural Differences in Perceived Timeliness of Care among Cancer Patients: A SEER‐CAHPS Study
Analyzes Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results–Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (SEER‐CAHPS) survey data for rural and urban Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years and older diagnosed with breast, lung, colorectal, or prostate cancer between 1998 and 2013 to explore associations between patient residence at cancer diagnosis and patient ratings of access to care.
Author(s): Michelle A. Mollica, Kathryn E. Weaver, Timothy S. McNeel, Erin E. Kent
Citation: Cancer, 124(15), 3257-3265
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
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A Changing Kansas: Implications for Health and Communities
Shows changes in Kansas' population since 1960 and population projections through 2066, with breakdowns by urban, semi-urban, densely settled rural, rural, and frontier location. Includes information and statistics on poverty, education, access to care and healthy food, physical activity, tobacco, and community engagement.
Additional links: Issue Brief
Author(s): D. Charles Hunt, Lawrence John Panas
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Kansas Health Institute
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Quantifying Disparities in Accessibility and Availability of Pediatric Primary Care across Multiple States with Implications for Targeted Interventions
Examines disparities in accessing pediatric primary care for rural and urban communities and children with public versus private insurance. Uses data on accessibility and availability for children in 7 states: California, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Discusses the policy implications of the findings both generally and for the states studied.
Author(s): Monica Gentili, Pravara Harati, Nicoleta Serban, Jean O'Connor, Julie Swann
Citation: Health Services Research, 53(3), 1458-1477
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
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Challenges Facing a Rural Opioid Epidemic: Treatment and Prevention of HIV and Hepatitis C
Presents a study on the current trends of HIV and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection coinciding with the opioid epidemic and the strategies for treatment and prevention in rural areas. Highlights the barriers to HIV and HCV testing and treatment for rural people who inject drugs.
Author(s): Asher J. Schranz, Jessica Barrett, Christopher B. Hurt, et al.
Citation: Current HIV/AIDS Reports, 15(3), 245-254
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
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The Impacts of Medicaid Expansion on Rural Low-Income Adults – Lessons from the Oregon Health Insurance Experiment
Describes a randomly controlled study examining Medicaid expansion. Includes data from interviews with 86 rural study participants discussing healthcare access, personal finances, and self-reported health status.
Author(s): Heidi Allen, Bill Wright, Lauren Broffman
Citation: Medical Care Research and Review, 75(3), 354-383
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
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Medicaid Expansion and Community Health Centers: Care Quality and Service Use Increased for Rural Patients
Reports on a study to assess the impact of Medicaid expansion on quality of care and insurance coverage in rural and urban community health centers (CHCs), and to examine the impact of expansion on the volume of healthcare services provided by CHCs. Uses data from the 2011-15 or 2012-15 Uniform Data System collected by the Bureau of Primary Health Care of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
Author(s): Megan B. Cole, Brad Wright, Ira B. Wilson, Omar Galárraga, Amal N. Trivedi
Citation: Health Affairs, 37(6), 900-907
Date: 06/2018
Type: Document
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