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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Behavioral health

Barriers to Mental Health Care: Improving Provider Directory Accuracy to Reduce the Prevalence of Ghost Networks
Recording of a May 3, 2023, hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance regarding inaccurate healthcare provider directories that impede access to mental healthcare. Features testimony from Robert L. Trestman, Professor and Chair of Behavioral Medicine at the Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, on access to care in rural Virginia.
Additional links: Robert L. Trestman, American Psychiatric Association - Testimony
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Senate Committee on Finance
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Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy — Maternal and Infant Network to Understand Outcomes Associated with Use of Medication for Opioid Use Disorder During Pregnancy (MAT-LINK), 2014–2021
Describes a surveillance network of seven clinical sites focused on the use of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during pregnancy. Initial report is limited to selected demographic characteristics of pregnant persons overall and by MOUD treatment status, including data for urban and rural areas.
Author(s): Kathryn Miele, Shin Y. Kim, Rachelle Jones, et al.
Citation: MMWR Surveillance Summaries, 72(3), 1-14
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Association of Receipt of Opioid Use Disorder-Related Telehealth Services and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder with Fatal Drug Overdoses among Medicare Beneficiaries Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Reports on a study to determine the benefits of expanding opioid use disorder (OUD) related telehealth services and remote prescribing of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) during the COVID-19 pandemic to reduce the number of fatalities due to drug overdose. Examines clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries with OUD by analyzing data on sex, age, county rural and urban status, death rates, disability, mental health diagnosis, chronic conditions, and other substance use disorders (SUDs).
Author(s): Christopher M. Jones, Carla Shoff, Carlos Blanco, et al.
Citation: JAMA Psychiatry, 80(5), 508–514
Date: 05/2023
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Mental Health Visits via Telecommunications for Rural Health Clinics & Federally Qualified Health Centers
Details regulatory changes for Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) and Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) regarding mental health visits provided through real-time audio-video and audio-only technologies. Includes information on coding for RHC and FQHC claims, in-person mental health visit requirements, and exceptions to the in-person requirement.
Date: 05/2023
Sponsoring organization: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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2022 Alaska Community Needs Assessment
Results of a February 2023 survey to gather household-level data on individualized, local needs in the areas of education, employment, workforce development, food security, and access to healthcare resources. Features demographics and statistics on disabilities, poverty, education level, rural housing, healthcare access, deaths of despair, substance use, and supply and demand of dental, mental health, and primary care providers.
Author(s): Daniel O'Brien
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Rural Alaska Community Action Program, Inc.
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Health-Related Quality of Life: Unhealthy Days, A Data Short Take
Reports on the number of days Minnesotans felt mentally or physically unhealthy from 2013 through 2021. Includes breakdowns of data by age, education, income, insurance type, race/ethnicity, citizenship, and RUCA region, which is further categorized by urban area, large rural city, small rural town, or isolated rural town.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Minnesota Department of Health
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Challenges and Solutions for Disaster Behavioral Health in Rural and Remote Communities
Describes the scope and diversity of rural and remote populations across the nation, highlighting sources of strength and struggle, including the effects of stigma, for rural Americans and rural healthcare providers. Explores potential approaches to disaster behavioral health in rural and remote areas, including governmental and policy approaches, community-based approaches, and telemedicine.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: SAMHSA Disaster Technical Assistance Center
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Evaluation of the Maternal Opioid Misuse (MOM) Model Second Annual Report (Implementation Year 1)
Provides an overview of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Model, which provides evidence-based integrated care and care coordination for pregnant and postpartum Medicaid beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Describes activities MOM Model awardees undertook during the MOM Model's first implementation year, July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022. Discusses barriers pregnant and postpartum people with OUD face in accessing high-quality, continuous care, specifically in rural areas.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Insight Policy Research
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Effect of the Communities That Care Prevention System on Adolescent Handgun Carrying: A Cluster-Randomized Clinical Trial
Analyzes the impact of Communities That Care (CTC), a community-based behavioral health intervention system, in reducing adolescent handgun carrying in rural areas. Examines survey data from 4,407 youth from 2003 to 2011 living in various rural communities and states in grades 5 through 12 and their likelihood to carry handguns.
Author(s): Ali Rowhani-Rahbar, Sabrina Oesterle, Emma L. Gause, et al.
Citation: JAMA Network Open, 6(4)
Date: 04/2023
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Nevada 2022 Rural Behavioral Health Profile: Elko, Eureka, Humboldt, Lander, Pershing, and White Pine Counties
Summarizes the behavioral health for 6 counties defined as rural in Nevada as of 2022. Includes general population statistics for the area as well as a discussion of mental health including suicide; substance use and misuse; and prenatal substance use and neonatal abstinence syndrome, among other topics.
Date: 04/2023
Sponsoring organization: Nevada Department of Health and Human Services
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