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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Rural OsteoPorosis Evaluation Service (ROPES)
Highlights the Rural Osteoporosis Evaluation Service (ROPES) as a promising practice for evaluating and treating osteoporosis in rural veterans. Features implementation information and results from the Durham VAMC in North Carolina.
Additional links: Overview
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: Osteoporosis Risk Assessment Using Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST) and Other Interventions at Rural Facilities
Outlines the Osteoporosis Self-Assessment Tool (OST) as a promising practice for assessing osteoporosis risk in rural veteran populations. Features examples in three Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.
Additional links: Overview
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Rural Promising Practice Issue Brief: GRECC Connect Project: Connecting Rural Providers with Geriatric Specialists Through Telemedicine
Describes the efforts of the Department of Veterans Affairs to support the rural elderly veteran population through implementation of telemedicine services originating at Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Centers (GRECCs).
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Veterans Health Administration's Office of Rural Health
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Veterans' Location in Health Professional Shortage Areas: Implications for Access to Care and Workforce Supply
Details a study on veterans that live in Health Professional Shortage Areas and their access to care. Focuses on the workforce demands of serving this population.
Author(s): Jamie Mihoko Doyle, Robin A. Streeter
Citation: Health Services Research, 52(s1), 459-480
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
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Disparities in Access to Trauma Care in the United States: A Population-Based Analysis
Describes the geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic disparities in access to trauma care in the U.S., including a rural and urban analysis of disparities. Covers data detailing demographic characteristics stratified by trauma center access by income, poverty, insurance status, education, race/ethnicity, rurality, and more.
Author(s): Brendan Carr, Ariel Bowman, Catherine Wolff, et al.
Citation: Injury, 48(2), 332-338
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
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Non-Emergency Medical Transportation Needs of Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Rural-Urban Comparison in Delaware, USA
A comparison of transportation patterns and costs for middle-aged and older adult Medicaid patients for medical care in rural versus urban Delaware. These patients were eligible for Non-Emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) services. Discusses transportation barriers to care for rural residents, including cost, availability, and accessibility and suggests solutions for connecting residents to needed services.
Author(s): Matthew Lee Smith, Thomas R. Prohaska, Kara E. MacLeod, et al.
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(2)
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
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Community Health Workers: Recommendations for Bridging Healthcare Gaps in Rural America
Policy brief reviewing research findings on community health worker (CHW) integration, and how CHWs can help bridge healthcare gaps in rural communities. Also reviews various state policies related to CHWs, identifies a number of care settings where CHWs are working in rural areas, and makes policy recommendations to support the continued integration of CHWs into the rural healthcare delivery system.
Author(s): Kailyn Dorhauer Mock, Tracy Morton, Prisci Quijada, Julie St. John
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Treating the Rural Opioid Epidemic
Policy brief reviewing the barriers to implementing effective, high-quality treatment for mental health and substance abuse issues in rural areas. Includes policy recommendations for addressing these issues, focusing on access to medication assisted treatment (MAT) and funding for rural mental health infrastructure.
Author(s): Christine Hancock, Heidi Mennenga, Nikki King, et al.
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Association
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Disruptive Innovation in Medicaid Non-Emergency Transportation
Discusses the current state of Medicaid's non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT) benefit, focusing on challenges, potential improvements, and state-level reforms. Includes an overview and table of NEMT service models by state and touches on the structural inefficiencies faced by rural communities.
Author(s): Adam Ganuza, Rachel Davis
Date: 02/2017
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Center for Health Care Strategies
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Telemedicine and Primary Care Obesity Management in Rural Areas – Innovative Approach for Older Adults?
Explores telemedicine as a potential delivery tool for the Medicare Obesity Benefit in primary care settings. Describes challenges in implementing the benefit in rural areas, including increasing older adult populations, shortages in primary care and specialized healthcare providers, reimbursement issues, and transportation barriers. Presents the potential utility of telemedicine in rural obesity care and non-physician staff delivery options, which require regulatory changes.
Author(s): John Batsis, Sarah Pletcher, James Stahl
Citation: BMC Geriatrics, 17, 6
Date: 01/2017
Type: Document
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