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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

VA Health Care: Improved Data, Planning, and Communication Needed for Infrastructure Modernization and Realignment
Describes the Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recommendations to modernize and realign its infrastructure. Examines the data that the VA used to inform its recommendations, any plans that VA has to improve such data, and the extent of the VA's planning to modernize and realign its infrastructure. Discusses rural-specific recommendations and compares data on facility closure and service line change recommendations by rurality.
Additional links: Full Report
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Leveraging Telemedicine To Eliminate Outcome Disparities For Rural-Born Newborns
Presentation slides from a webinar discussing the barriers affecting care for neonatal encephalopathy in rural areas. Describes telemedicine strategies evaluating neonatal encephalopathy and methods for improving parent understanding. Identifies other applications of telemedicine appropriate for the care of newborns and children.
Additional links: Transcript
Author(s): Alexa Craig
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Consortium of Telehealth Resource Centers
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Use of Telemedicine among Office-Based Physicians, 2021
Details the usage of telemedicine by physicians who are office-based, self-employed or employed by a health system, including their specialty, participation in payment models, satisfaction with telemedicine, and continued use post-pandemic. Provides data on rural and urban physician use of telemedicine tools and platforms integrated with electronic health records (EHR).
Author(s): Yuriy Pylypchuk, Wesley Barker
Citation: ONC Data Brief, 65
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: Assistant Secretary for Technology Policy/Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
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Rates of Primary Care and Integrated Mental Health Telemedicine Visits Between Rural and Urban Veterans Affairs Beneficiaries Before and After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Shares the results of a study examining changes over time in rural-urban differences in telemedicine use for primary care and mental health integration services among Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries. Uses data from 138 VA healthcare systems from March 2019 to December 2021. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by visit type and rural or urban area.
Author(s): Lucinda B. Leung, Caroline Yoo, Karen Chu, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(3)
Date: 03/2023
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Availability of Behavioral Health Providers and Services in Rural Areas, with Holly Andrilla
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Holly Andrilla, Deputy Director of the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center. Focuses on rural availability of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychiatric nurse practitioners, social workers, and counselors, as well as recent developments in access to medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Emergency Department Visits Related to Mental Health Disorders Among Adults, by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity: United States, 2018–2020
Report explores the rates of mental health-related visits to emergency departments (EDs) by race and Hispanic ethnicity. Breaks down data by race, mental health disorder, and urbanization level, among other measures.
Author(s): Zachary J. Peters, Loredana Santo, Danielle Davis, Carol J. DeFrances
Date: 03/2023
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Disparities in Telemedicine Literacy and Access in the United States
Examines populations who have limited access to telemedicine for plastic surgery care as well as general healthcare. Utilizes data from the U.S. Census and Pew Research Institute survey to create a telemedicine literacy index (TLI) and reports results according to various demographic variables as well as via a county-level U.S. map depicting telemedicine access.
Author(s): Andrew Harris, Amit Jain, Suraj A. Dhanjani, et al.
Citation: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 151(3), 677-685
Date: 03/2023
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Rural and Urban Differences in Insurance Coverage at Prepregnancy, Birth, and Postpartum
Examines insurance coverage in rural and urban women at prepregnancy, birth, and postpartum. Analyzes 154,992 postpartum individuals in the U.S. part of the 2016-2019 PRAMS (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System) and breaks down rural versus urban data by demographic variables, income, state Medicaid expansion, education, marital status, chronic disease, and more. Discusses disparities in insurance for rural and urban women.
Author(s): Lindsay K. Admon, Jamie R. Daw, Julia D. Interrante, et al.
Citation: Obstetrics & Gynecology, 14(3), 570-581
Date: 03/2023
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Rural-Urban Differences in Workers' Access to Paid Sick Leave
Compares paid sick leave access among rural and urban workers using 2014-2017 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) data. Includes data on demographic characteristics associated with limited access to paid sick leave in rural and urban settings, including race and ethnicity, type of employment, and more.
Author(s): Erika C. Ziller, Carly M. Milkowski, Zachariah Croll, Yvonne C.M. Jonk
Citation: Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 31(1), 335-344
Date: 02/2023
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Evaluation of the First-Year Data from an HPV Vaccination Van Program in South Carolina, U.S.
Reports on implementation and results of a mobile vaccination program focused on human papillomavirus (HPV) and other childhood immunizations for underserved populations in rural South Carolina. Discusses the significance of HPV vaccination for cancer prevention.
Author(s): Marvella E. Ford, Kathleen B. Cartmell, Angela M. Malek, et al.
Citation: Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(4), 1362
Date: 02/2023
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