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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Immigrant Doctors Can Help Lower Physician Shortages in Rural America
Report highlighting physician shortages in rural areas and exploring pathways by which immigrants come to practice in those areas. Provides recommendations for state and federal policies that would better incorporate immigrant doctors into the effort to ease healthcare shortages in rural areas. Includes statistics on the number and percentage of International Medical Graduates who were resident physicians in the United States in 2017, with breakdowns by citizenship or visa status.
Author(s): Silva Mathema
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for American Progress
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State-Level and County-Level Estimates of Health Care Costs Associated with Food Insecurity
Results of a study to estimate state- and county-level healthcare costs associated with food insecurity, using data from the 2011-2013 National Health Interview Survey/Medical Expenditure Panel Survey. Features statistics including demographic characteristics of participants, with breakdown by location in a nonmetropolitan area.
Author(s): Seth A. Berkowitz, Sanjay Basu, Craig Gundersen, Hilary K. Seligman
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 07/2019
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Opportunities and Challenges Addressing Access to Healthy Food in Five Rural Louisiana Food Stores
Results of a rural food store intervention implemented in 3 Louisiana parishes where obesity prevalence was greater than 40%. Describes implications for public health and offers recommendations for future interventions.
Author(s): Michelle Kendall, Stephanie T. Broyles, Jamila Freightman, Melissa Cater, Denise Holston
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 07/2019
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Facilitators and Barriers to the Implementation of the HPV VACs (Vaccinate Adolescents Against Cancers) Program: A Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research Analysis
Results of a study examining the delivery of the human papillomavirus virus (HPV) vaccine in a primary care setting, using data from telephone interviews with representatives of 9 Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC) systems. Features statistics including characteristics of the FQHCs, with breakdowns by urban, suburban, rural, or mixed locations.
Author(s): Cam Escoffery, Kara Riehman, Lesley Watson, et al.
Citation: Preventing Chronic Disease, 16
Date: 07/2019
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Access to Primary Care Clinics for Patients With Chronic Pain Receiving Opioids
Results of a study of 194 Michigan primary care clinics, to assess their willingness to continue prescribing opioids to new patients and to determine whether this differs across payer types. Includes statistics on characteristics of clinics accepting new patients currently taking opioids, with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Author(s): Pooja A. Lagisetty, Nathaniel Healy, Claire Garpestad, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 2(7)
Date: 07/2019
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Our Wireless Future: Building a Comprehensive Approach to Spectrum Policy
Documents related to a U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce hearing focused on policies affecting access to wireless internet. Addresses access to wireless in rural tribal areas, spectrum for emergency operations, options for expanding rural broadband access, and uses for broadband access. Includes testimony from the Federal Communications Commission, MuralNet, Competitive Carriers Association, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, and others.
Additional links: Hearing Recording, Julius P. Knapp Testimony, Mariel Triggs Testimony, Michael Calabrese Testimony, Peter Pitsch Testimony, Tim Donovan Testimony
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: House Committee on Energy and Commerce
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Telehealth in Rural America
Policy brief focused on telehealth in the rural U.S. Addresses state and national policies related to insurance coverage of telehealth, infrastructure challenges such as broadband access, licensure issues, reimbursement, and other barriers to telehealth access.
Author(s): Windy Alonso, Elizabeth Crouch, Nicole Thorell
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Nebraska's Uninsured and the Coverage Gap by County
Highlights the percent of the population without health insurance by county in Nebraska for 2017. Details the percentage of people employed without insurance and those that fall in the gap between Medicaid eligibility and the least expensive insurance plan.
Date: 07/2019
Sponsoring organization: Center for Rural Affairs
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The Role of Primary Care in Improving Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment for Rural Medicaid Enrollees with Opioid Use Disorder
Examines the utilization of primary care among rural Medicaid enrollees in rural Pennsylvania diagnosed with an opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes the relationship between primary care utilization, distance to a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) prescriber, and MAT utilization.
Author(s): Evan S. Cole, Ellen DiDomenico, Gerald Cochran, et al.
Citation: Journal of General Internal Medicine, 34(6), 936-943
Date: 06/2019
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Determining Spatial Access to Opioid Use Disorder Treatment and Emergency Medical Services in New Hampshire
Highlights a study on the effect of geospatial determinants on access to opioid use disorder treatment and emergency medical services in New Hampshire. Breaks down data by metropolitan, micropolitan, small town, and rural communities.
Author(s): Yanjia Cao, Kathleen Stewart, Eric Wish, et al.
Citation: Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 101, 55-66
Date: 06/2019
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