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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Elderly population

2018 Transportation Trends
Identifies issues affecting the availability of accessible transportation for older adults and people with disabilities. Includes examples of programs underway in rural and frontier areas to address transportation needs.
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: National Aging and Disability Transportation Center
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The Opioid Prescribing Rate and Grandparents Raising Grandchildren: State and County Level Analysis
Study highlights the relationship between grandparents raising children and the opioid crisis. Compares American Community Survey data from 2012-2016 with CDC 2016 Opioid Prescribing data. The State and County Level Analysis Poster presents a summary of the study, as well as state and county-level data and maps.
Additional links: State and County Level Analysis Poster
Author(s): Lydia Anderson
Date: 04/2019
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Census Bureau
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Rural-Urban Variation in Weight Loss Recommendations Among US Older Adults with Arthritis and Obesity
Analyzes 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data to identify rural and urban differences in the number of older adults with obesity and arthritis who received weight loss recommendations (WLR) from healthcare providers. Includes data from 5 states on WLR receipt according to age, sex, education, race/ethnicity, income, and population density.
Author(s): Mary Greaney, Steven Cohen, Christie Ward-Ritacco, Deborah Riebe
Citation: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(6), 946
Date: 03/2019
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Stranded: Bridging the Transportation Gap for Rural Communities
Discusses the transportation gap for older people, lower-income populations, and people with disabilities in rural communities. Highlights some of the challenges of accessing transportation services in rural communities and offers some steps toward closing the gap.
Author(s): Valerie Lefler
Date: 03/2019
Sponsoring organization: AARP
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There's No Place Like Home: Rural Home Health and Hospice Care in Washington State, a Discussion of Challenges and Solutions
Provides an overview of home health and hospice services in rural Washington state. Identifies rural areas and offers information on aging rural populations within the state. Discusses challenges and potential solutions to meeting the needs of rural aging populations in Washington.
Author(s): Patricia Justis
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: Washington State Office of Rural Health
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California's Behavioral Health Services Workforce is Inadequate for Older Adults
Describes gaps in California's behavioral health workforce that serves older adults and offers recommendations for addressing them. Highlights the impact of the Workforce Education and Training (WET) funding on the state's public mental health system. Discusses the behavioral health needs of older adults, the number and distribution of the state's behavioral health workforce, and workforce challenges, particularly for rural areas.
Author(s): Janet C. Frank, Kathryn G. Kietzman, Alina Palimaru
Date: 01/2019
Sponsoring organization: UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
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Indiana's Long Term Care & Aging Workforce
Identifies the Indiana licensed health professionals who practice in geriatrics or long term care, home health, or related settings, and describes their professional characteristics. Features statistics including numbers of professionals in the Indiana long term care and aging workforce, with breakdowns by rural and urban location.
Author(s): Hannah Maxey, Sierra Vaughn, Courtney Randolph
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: Bowen Center for Health Workforce Research and Policy
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Evaluating a Training Program for Rural Doctors and Nursing Home Staff on Safe Medicine Use for Patients with Dementia and Nursing Home Residents
Investigates whether a training program for healthcare providers in 29 rural counties in Iowa affected medication use by patients age 66 or older. Includes data and statistics on outpatients with dementia and nursing home residents, with information on age, sex, chronic disease, medication use, and more.
Author(s): Ryan Carnahan, Grant Brown, Marianne Smith, et al.
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
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Perceived Benefits of Peer Support Groups for Stroke Survivors and Caregivers in Rural North Carolina
Describes the experiences of stroke survivors and caregivers in four rural North Carolina counties who participated in peer support groups. Findings based on four focus groups with 32 participants, who were predominantly non-Hispanic, White, and female, with an average age of 67.
Author(s): Erin R. Christensen, Shannon L. Golden, Sabina B. Gesell
Citation: North Carolina Medical Journal, 80(3), 143-148
Date: 2019
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Aging in Appalachia
Episodes of the radio program "Inside Appalachia," exploring challenges faced by elderly people in Appalachia, and the resources available to them. Topics include caregiver shortages, Alzheimer's disease, dying with dignity, and isolation and loneliness.
Date: 2019
Sponsoring organization: West Virginia Public Broadcasting
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