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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Access

The Future Pediatric Subspecialty Physician Workforce: Meeting the Needs of Infants, Children, and Adolescents
Reports on barriers to increasing the pediatric subspecialist workforce and discusses the impact on research to improve health outcomes for children. Discusses access to care, education of the workforce, reimbursement rates, and more. Highlights rural specific challenges throughout.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Children, Youth, and Families
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Health Disparities in Central Nervous System Disorders: Driving Transformative Change: Proceedings of a Workshop–in Brief
Highlights the proceedings of a workshop on strategies to reduce health disparities relating to central nervous system (CNS) disorders. Explores CNS health disparities in rural and low-income communities and among racial and ethnic minority groups, such as American Indian and Alaska Native tribal nations. Discusses the roles academia, industry, and the government have in creating a diverse neuroscience workforce to advance community partnerships and collaborations.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Sciences Policy
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Toward Equitable Innovation in Health and Medicine: A Framework
Report describing a framework for decision-making during the innovation process for the purpose of equitable distribution of health and medicine. The framework considers who innovation is for, who has a say in developing the innovation, access to innovation, and the distribution of the value of the innovation. Includes rural references throughout.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Sciences Policy
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Improving Access to High-Quality Mental Health Care for Veterans: Proceedings of a Workshop
Presents a workshop focusing on mental healthcare access for veterans. Discusses some of the challenges the VA faces in delivering mental healthcare to veterans, particularly those in rural and low-income communities. Explores methods to improve mental health access and highlights best practices.
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Coordinated Specialty Care for First Episode Psychosis: Costs and Financing Strategies
Report discusses the costs and funding options for coordinated specialty care (CSC) as an early intervention for patients experiencing their first episode of psychosis. Presents a systemic review of studies examining CSC costs and highlights current financing strategies. Makes recommendations for behavioral health organizations and features states expanding coverage of CSC to rural areas.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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Federal Policy to Advance Racial, Ethnic, and Tribal Health Equity
Report explores the role of federal policy in creating or perpetuating racial, ethnic, and tribal health inequities. Discusses how past and current federal policies, directly related to healthcare or not, affect the health and well-being of racial and ethnic minorities, including American Indian and Alaska Native communities.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Rural Communities in the United States Face Persistent Disparities in Access to Orthopaedic Surgical Care
Examines trends in the proportion of orthopedic surgeons practicing in rural areas between 2013 to 2018 using data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Physician Compare National Downloadable File (PC-NDF). Identifies the proportion of rural U.S. counties with access to orthopedic surgeons. Describes the characteristics associated with surgeons practicing in a rural setting.
Author(s): Victoria S. Wu, Jenna E. Schmidt, Tarun K. Jella, et al.
Citation: The Iowa Orthopaedic Journal, 431(1), 15-21
Date: 2023
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2021 Pennsylvania's Dentist and Dental Hygienist Workforce Survey Report
Presents findings from the 2021 Dentist Survey and 2021 Dental Hygienist Survey, designed to collect information on the characteristics and distribution of the dentist and dental hygienist workforces in Pennsylvania. Features demographics and statistics with breakdowns by urban and rural location.
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Department of Health
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Closing the Opportunity Gap for Young Children
Discusses the factors that cause inequities and limited access to resources for young children, such as poverty, food insecurity, abuse and violence, lack of social and emotional safety, inadequate healthcare and schooling, and more. Discusses policy and practices aimed at reducing opportunity gaps, with a focus on historically disadvantaged populations, including those in rural areas.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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America's Health Rankings Senior Report 2023
Provides a national and state-by-state overview of population health for older adults across 52 measures using data from 22 unique data sources. Covers social and economic factors, physical environment, clinical care, behaviors, and health outcomes. Highlights health disparities, including rural-urban disparities, across five categories of health. Includes state-by-state summaries and county-level maps for risk of social isolation by state.
Additional links: County-Level Maps for Risk of Social Isolation
Date: 2023
Sponsoring organization: United Health Foundation
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