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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Appalachia

Formative Research Conducted in Rural Appalachia to Inform a Community Physical Activity Intervention
Describes the perceived barriers to and facilitators of physical activity in rural Appalachia. Reviews organized programs for physical activity and suggests partnerships for physical activity programming. Table 3 lists the barriers and facilitators of physical activity.
Author(s): Tina M. Kruger, Mark Swanson, Rian E. Davis, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Health Promotion, 26(3), 143-151
Date: 01/2012
Type: Document
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Community Strategies to Address Cancer Disparities in Appalachian Kentucky
An overview of a community-based participatory research intervention in Appalachian Kentucky to address cancer disparities. Includes discussion of the perceptions and barriers to screening. Covers strategies for working in Appalachia, rural locations, and other traditionally undeserved communities. Table 3 lists characteristics and Figure 1 is an example focus group interview guide.
Author(s): Nancy E. Schoenberg, Britteny M. Howell, Nell Fields
Citation: Family & Community Health, 35(1), 31-43
Date: 2012
Type: Document
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An Analysis of Oral Health Disparities and Access to Services in the Appalachian Region
Analyzes disparities in oral health status and access to oral healthcare in the Appalachian Region. Examines relationships between oral health disparities and socioeconomic status indicators. Focuses on aiding efforts to develop targeted interventions to reduce disparities in Appalachia.
Author(s): Denise D. Krause, Warren L. May, Nancy M. Lane, et al.
Date: 12/2011
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Appalachian Regional Commission, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research
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Exploring Geographic Variation in Lung Cancer Incidence in Kentucky Using a Spatial Scan Statistic: Elevated Risk in the Appalachian Coal-Mining Region
Discusses mining-related environmental factors which may contribute to high rates of lung cancer in 30 Kentucky counties. Includes breakdowns by sex, age group, smoking history, county-level lung cancer rates from 1995-2007, and coal production rates from 1983-2007.
Author(s): W. Jay Christian, Bin Huang, John Rinehart, Claudia Hopenhayn
Citation: Public Health Reports, 126(6)
Date: 11/2011
Type: Document
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Geospatially Illustrating Regional-Based Oral Health Disparities in Kentucky
Identifies dental health differences between Appalachian and non-Appalachian regions of Kentucky. Includes county-level maps showing percentages of adults with six or more teeth removed due to disease and number of dentists per 10,000 population.
Author(s): Daniel M. Saman, Andrew O. Johnson, Oscar Arevalo, Agricola Odoi
Citation: Public Health Report, 126(4)
Date: 07/2011
Type: Document
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Project Lazarus: Community-Based Overdose Prevention in Rural North Carolina
Describes a community-based overdose prevention model in an Appalachian county of Western North Carolina to combat the high unintentional poisoning mortality rate due to prescription opioids. The main components of this model include community involvement, coalition building, monitoring and surveillance data, overdose prevention, use of medication for reversing overdoses, and the education of primary care providers in managing chronic pain and safe opioid prescribing.
Author(s): Su Albert, Fred W. Brason, Catherine K. Sanford, et al.
Citation: Pain Medicine, 12, (suppl 2), S77-S85
Date: 06/2011
Type: Document
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Individual and Network Factors Associated with Non-fatal Overdose among Rural Appalachian Drug Users
Presents a study on the prevalence of non-fatal prescription drug overdoses in rural Appalachian Kentucky. Breaks down data by whether the overdose was experienced or witnessed, injection drug use, and lifetime drug use, among other factors.
Author(s): Jennifer R. Havens, Carrie B. Oser, Hannah K. Knudsen, et al.
Citation: Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 115(1-2), 107-112
Date: 05/2011
Type: Document
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Health-Related Quality of Life Among Central Appalachian Residents in Mountaintop Mining Counties
Examines the health-related quality of life of residents in mountaintop mining counties of Appalachia using the 2006 national Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Author(s): Keith J. Zullig, Michael Hendryx
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 101(5), 848-853
Date: 05/2011
Type: Document
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Breastfeeding Prevalence and Distribution in the USA and Appalachia by Rural and Urban Setting
Reports on the prevalence of breastfeeding in rural and urban areas, with data for the nation, the Appalachian region as a whole, and specific Appalachian states.
Author(s): R. Constance Wiener, Michael A. Weiner
Citation: Rural and Remote Health, 11(2), 1713
Date: 05/2011
Type: Document
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Mental Health Status and Perceived Barriers to Seeking Treatment in Rural Reserve Component Veterans
Reports on National Guard and Reserve troops from the Appalachian Region in Pennsylvania who returned from deployment. Addresses demographics, deployment history, barriers to seeking treatment, help-seeking behaviors, mental health symptoms, and sources of stress. Discusses rural and urban differences, including transportation barriers and attitudes towards seeking mental health treatment.
Author(s): Elizabeth A. Bennett, Michael Crabtree, Mary E. Schaffer, Thomas W. Britt
Citation: Journal of Rural Social Sciences, 26(3), 113-136
Date: 2011
Type: Document
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