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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Behavioral health

FY 2022 Mississippi State Health Plan: Fourth Edition - Amended
Offers criteria and standards for health-related activities in Mississippi which require Certificate of Need review. Features sections on workforce, long-term care, mental health, perinatal care, acute care, rehabilitation services, and other services. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Mississippi State Department of Health
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Integrating Physical and Behavioral Health: Addressing Co-Occurring Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders with Chronic Physical Illnesses
Report details the way physical and behavioral healthcare integration can support patients with co-occurring behavioral health disorders and chronic physical issues. Discusses the different levels of care integration, evidence-based approaches, and established models for care integration in different settings. Highlights a rural clinic-based telepsychiatry model in South Carolina.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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School-Centered Tobacco Retailer Exposure and Neighborhood Opportunity Across Urban and Rural Tennessee
Examines the association between neighborhood opportunity and school-centered tobacco retailer exposure in Tennessee, including differences by rural or urban areas and Appalachian status. Features statistics and county-level maps with shadings showing school-centered tobacco retail exposure and tract-level quintiles of the Child Opportunity Index state percentile.
Author(s): Sima Namin, Jacob Black, Jennifer Ferris, Robert E. Heidel
Citation: Journal of Appalachian Health, 8(2), 29-52
Date: 08/2026
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Protective Factors among Rural and Remote Soldiers: A Critical Phenomenological Perspective on Suicidality in Alaska
Presents a study aiming to identify protective factors to reduce suicidality, using interviews from 38 active duty soldiers in Alaska. Includes information on protective factors from the perspective of soldiers, as well as potential supports to lower the rates of suicidality.
Author(s): Emily J. Lugdon, James R. Morton, Raeann G. LeBlanc
Citation: Military Medicine, 191(S1), 453-461
Date: 08/2026
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Behavioral Health Council Action Plan - Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
Examines the current state of Pennsylvania's behavioral healthcare system, highlights areas for improvement, and offers recommendations to improve access to mental health and addiction care services. Mentions rural throughout.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Pennsylvania Behavioral Health Council
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2026 CCBHC Impact Report
Discusses the impact certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs) have had on expanding access to mental and substance use healthcare, supporting the well-being of children and families, and coordinating with primary care providers, among other measures. Explores national CCBHC implementation status, utilization of services, collaboration with other providers, and workforce support. Includes a breakdown of clientele expansions in rural CCBHCs.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Council for Mental Wellbeing
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Recovery Is Possible: Continuity of Care from Incarceration to Community, with Kelsea O'Leary
An episode of the Exploring Rural Health podcast featuring Kelsea O'Leary, Behavioral Health Program Manager for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Focuses on strategies used to facilitate continuity of care for justice-involved tribal citizens in recovery as they transition to post-incarceration life. Part 3 in a 3-part series featuring the 2026 Rural Communities Opioid Response Program (RCORP) Innovation Tank finalists, with Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma's work winning second place.
Date: 08/2026
Sponsoring organization: Rural Health Information Hub
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Mental Health Stressors and Barriers to Support Among Rural Farmers: A Qualitative Study of Agricultural Communities in the East South-Central United States
Explores how farmers experience mental health stressors, coping strategies, and barriers to seeking help via thematic analysis of interviews with 14 rural Kentucky farmers. Discusses farming-specific stressors, stigma, self-reliance, and lessons for suicide prevention.
Author(s): Jeanne M. Ward, Melissa Perkins, John R. Blosnich
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 23(8), 983
Date: 07/2026
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Strategies to Address the Rural Access Gap in Substance Use Services
Describes how community paramedicine and mobile substance use care units can address barriers to substance use treatment in rural areas, and how these programs can be supported at the state level via Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) funding.
Author(s): Rebekah Falkner
Date: 07/2026
Sponsoring organization: National Academy for State Health Policy
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Rural–Urban Residence in Relation to Cannabis Use Influences and Behaviors among a Sample of US Young Adults Reporting Past‐Month Cannabis Use
Examines how cannabis use behaviors and perceptions vary among rural and urban young adults via an online survey of 1,961 adults aged 18-34 who reported past-month cannabis use. Includes data on perceived harm, coping, frequency of use, driving under the influence, likelihood of mental health diagnosis, consequences of use, and more.
Author(s): Katelyn F. Romm, Amanda Y. Kong, Patricia A. Cavazos-Rehg, Carla J. Berg
Citation: The American Journal on Addictions, 35(5), 622-632
Date: 07/2026
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