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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Emergency department and urgent care services

Emergency Department Interventions for Opioid Use Disorder: Overview of the Landscape, Key Components, and Analysis of Five Case Studies
Provides an overview of the evidence base for emergency department (ED)-based programs to address and treat opioid use disorders (OUD). Describes factors that motivated the development of these programs, how they are structured and financed, and barriers and facilitators to ED-based OUD treatment. Features case studies of five ED-based programs, including Marshall Medical Center in rural California.
Date: 08/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Brandeis University, HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation
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COVID-19 Hospital Encounters by Urban-Rural Location of the Hospital by Week From Selected Hospitals
Line chart showing hospitals' percentage of confirmed COVID-19 encounters among all emergency department or inpatient encounters. Includes data from March 2020 through December 2022 for large central and fringe metro areas, medium and small metro areas, and rural areas.
Date: 07/2023
Type: Chart/Graph
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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Emergency Department Preparedness to Care for Sexual Assault Survivors: A Nationwide Study
Surveys 315 sexual assault (SA) advocates to determine emergency department staff preparedness and available resources for SA survivors. Discusses rural and urban access to sexual assault nurse examiners and implications for quality of care.
Author(s): Kristen Chalmers, Meredith Hollender, Liam Spurr, et al.
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health, 24(3)
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
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Characterizing Social Insecurity in a Rural North Carolina Emergency Department
Results of a study exploring, characterizing, and quantifying the social insecurity profile of emergency department patients at a rural teaching hospital in southeastern North Carolina with a large Native American population. Uses data from a survey questionnaire administered in May and June 2018, focusing on food insecurity, transportation insecurity, and exposure to violence.
Author(s): Elizabeth Gignac, Godwin Y. Dogbey, Aleksandr Pevtsov, et al.
Citation: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 24(3), 538–546
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
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Accountable Health Communities (AHC) Model Evaluation: Second Evaluation Report
Provides an overview of the Accountable Health Communities (ACH) Model, which tests whether identifying and addressing core health-related social needs (HRSNs) of community-dwelling beneficiaries improves health outcomes, reduces healthcare costs, and reduces unnecessary healthcare utilization. Explores the context in which the AHC Model was implemented and the model's impacts on Medicaid, FFS Medicare, and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries. Presents information on participating organizations that had rural areas within their geographic target areas (GTAs) and compares outcomes among urban and rural participants.
Additional links: Findings at a Glance
Date: 05/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organizations: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, RTI International
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DRCHSD Spotlight on Natchitoches Regional Medical Center
Profiles Natchitoches Regional Medical Center (NRMC) in Natchitoches, Louisiana. Discusses how NRMC implemented best practices from the Delta Region Community Health Systems Development Program to improve their emergency department redirect program and form community partnerships to address social determinants of health and improve the health of the population.
Date: 05/2023
Type: Video/Multimedia
Sponsoring organization: National Rural Health Resource Center
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Addressing the Oral Health Needs of Hispanics in the U.S. – An Exploration of Oral Health Status, Dental Needs, Utilization of Dental Services, and Workforce
Report highlights the factors affecting the oral health of Hispanic and Latino populations in the U.S. Explores access, healthcare utilization, and workforce issues, among others. Discusses the use of emergency departments for oral health issues in rural areas, as well as access issues faced by migrants.
Date: 04/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: CareQuest Institute for Oral Health
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Social Determinants of Health and Emergency Department Utilization in Alabama Children's Health Insurance Program
Examines the relationship between social determinants of health (SDOH) and emergency department (ED) use in Alabama children. Utilizes 2015-2017 data from ALL Kids, Alabama's Children's Health Insurance Program, to analyze ED use by race, socioeconomic status (SES), urbanicity, availability of pediatricians, immigrant-density factors, and more.
Author(s): Ye Liu, Pradeep Sharma, David J. Becker, et al.
Citation: The American Journal of Managed Care, 29(3)
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
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Access to Health Services Across Rural and Urban Minoritized Racial/Ethnic Group Areas
Summarizes results from a series of reports documenting disparities in access to health services nationwide across ZIP Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs) categorized by rurality and racial and ethnic composition. Presents data on the distance to care from the population center of rural and urban ZCTAs to the nearest provider. Covers first line, higher acuity, and home-based services.
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Rural and Minority Health Research Center (formerly the South Carolina Rural Health Research Center)
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Emergency Department Visits Related to Mental Health Disorders Among Adults, by Race and Hispanic Ethnicity: United States, 2018–2020
Report explores the rates of mental health-related visits to emergency departments (EDs) by race and Hispanic ethnicity. Breaks down data by race, mental health disorder, and urbanization level, among other measures.
Author(s): Zachary J. Peters, Loredana Santo, Danielle Davis, Carol J. DeFrances
Date: 03/2023
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Center for Health Statistics
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