Skip to main content
Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Developing a "Toolkit" to Measure Implementation of Concurrent Palliative Care in Rural Community Cancer Centers
Reports on the implementation of an early palliative care telehealth model identified as ENABLE (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) for patients with recently diagnosed cancer and their caregivers in 4 rural cancer centers. Describes the measures used to determine early palliative care implementation and their development and testing, and the challenges and lessons learned in the implementation process.
Author(s): Lisa Zubkoff, J. Nicholas Dionne-Odom, Maria Pisu, et al.
Citation: Palliative & Supportive Care, 16(1), 60-72
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Differences in Access to and Use of Electronic Personal Health Information Between Rural and Urban Residents in the United States
Analyzes nationally representative data to detect geographic differences in access to and utilization of health information technology (HIT). Compares rural and urban locations on internet accessibility and sociodemographic factors, including sex, age, race/ethnicity, educational attainment, annual income, and health insurance coverage.
Author(s): Alexandra Greenberg, Danielle Haney, Kelly Blake, Richard Moser, Bradford Hesse
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(S1), s30-s38
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Geographic Diffusion and Implementation of Acute Care Surgery: An Uneven Solution to the National Emergency General Surgery Crisis
Analyzes a survey on emergency general surgery care administered to 2,811 acute care hospitals in the U.S. in 2015. Examines the uptake of acute care surgery (ACS) by geography and further describes areas that are slow to implement ACS, which includes implications for rural communities. Includes county-level maps showing the distribution of hospitals with and without ACS and access to a hospital with ACS based on race and ethnicity and socioeconomic characteristics.
Author(s): Jasmine A. Khubchandani, Angela M. Ingraham, Vijaya T. Daniel, et al.
Citation: JAMA Surgery, 153(2), 150-159
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Geographic Access to Mammography Facilities and Frequency of Mammography Screening
Explores a study on the role location plays in mammography utilization. Draws data from the Wisconsin Women's Health Study and uses Rural Urban Commuting Area (RUCA) codes to determine the distance women would have to travel to a mammography facility.
Author(s): Patricia I. Jewett, Ronald E. Gangnon, Elena Elkin, et al.
Citation: Annals of Epidemiology, 28(2), 65-71
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Hospitals and Health Systems Ensuring Access in Their Communities: A Compendium of Case Examples
Identifies 9 primary strategies used by hospitals to increase access to healthcare services in rural and urban areas and offers examples of each. Covers virtual care options such as telehealth, emergency and urgent care models such as freestanding emergency departments (EDs), rural hospital networks, partnerships with Indian Health Service providers, and strategies to address social determinants of health.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: American Hospital Association
view details
Current State of Child Health in Rural America: How Context Shapes Children's Health
Describes the health status of children in rural America. Highlights the components of the rural environment that may affect children's health and health outcomes, including economic characteristics, healthcare provider availability, behavior health risks, and usage of health services.
Author(s): Janice C. Probst, Judith C. Barker, Alexandra Enders, Paula Gardiner
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(Suppl 1), s3–s12
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Rural-Urban Differences in Access to Preventive Health Care Among Publicly Insured Minnesotans
Analyzes rural and urban differences in access to preventive care in adults and children in public insurance programs in Minnesota. Examines barriers to care at the system, provider, and individual level. Includes statistics for the rural, urban, and total sample population by sex, age, race/ethnicity, marital status, employment, health status, disability status, and more.
Author(s): John Loftus, Elizabeth M. Allen, Kathleen Thiede Call, Susan A. Everson-Rose
Citation: Journal of Rural Health, 34(Suppl 1), s48-s55
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Evaluation of an Academic-Community Partnership to Implement MTM Services in Rural Communities to Improve Pharmaceutical Care for Patients with Diabetes and/or Hypertension
Evaluates a pilot project in Arizona where community health center and independent retail pharmacies offered medication therapy management (MTM) services on site and by phone to rural, underserved Arizonans with diabetes or high blood pressure.
Author(s): Melissa Johnson, Rebecca Jastrzab, Jared Tate, et al.
Citation: Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 24(2), 132-141
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
view details
Oral Health in Texas, Bridging Gaps and Filling Needs
Provides an overview of oral health in Texas and factors that contribute to oral health, while highlighting the needs of rural and border populations. Covers oral health workforce needs and barriers to accessing oral care. Provides regional and county-level statistics and information on rural populations, age, socioeconomic factors, oral health outcomes, and more.
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Texas Health Institute
view details
As the South Grows: Bearing Fruit
Explores how areas of Southern cities such as Metro Atlanta offer opportunities to learn ways to confront and eliminate structural barriers that will have effects on other parts of the country. Discusses rural-specific considerations, as well.
Additional links: Executive Summary
Author(s): Ryan Schlegel, Stephanie Peng
Date: 02/2018
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
view details