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Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health conditions

Maternal and Child Health Services Title V Block Grant - Tennessee: FY 2025 Application/FY 2023 Annual Report
Describes Tennessee's maternal and child health programs, including issues related to closures of birthing hospitals, healthcare access in rural areas, family planning, childhood obesity, tobacco use, telehealth access, transportation, and more.
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: Tennessee Department of Health
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Cancer in Rural America: Improving Access to Clinical Trials and Quality of Oncologic Care
Discusses the importance of rural populations accessing oncologic clinical trials to decrease cancer morbidity and mortality rates in rural areas. Provides rural versus urban patient data on distance from trial sites as well as prevalence of chronic disease. Suggests strategies and policies to improve access to clinical trials.
Author(s): Joseph M. Unger, Barbara L. McAneny, Raymond U. Osarogiagbon
Citation: CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 75(4), 341-361
Date: 07/2025
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Geographic Variability in Contemporary Utilization of PET Imaging for Prostate Cancer: A Medicare Claims Cohort Study
Analyzes likelihood of receiving Positron Emission Tomography (PET) by level of rurality as part of prostate cancer treatment, utilizing 2019-2021 Medicare claims data. Includes analysis of interactions between metro, urban, or rural geography and patients' race.
Author(s): Stephan M. Korn, Zhiyu Qian, Hanna Zurl, et al.
Citation: Cancer Imaging, 25, 86
Date: 07/2025
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Sustainability of the Growth of the Local Public Health Workforce During the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2019–2022
Examines changes in the local health department (LHD) workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing 2019-2022 NACCHO National Profile of Local Health Departments data. Breaks down LHD workforce composition and size data by LHD jurisdiction size and rurality.
Author(s): Krishna Patel, Timothy C. McCall, Margaret Cunningham, et al.
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 115, 1271-1277
Date: 07/2025
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New Mexico STD Program Summary of Surveillance Data: 2024
Reports on sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates for New Mexico. Compares New Mexico rates to U.S. rates over time and provides STD rates for each New Mexico county for Chlamydia, Gonorrhea, and Syphilis.
Author(s): Janine Waters, Miranda Durham, Angie Bartok
Date: 07/2025
Sponsoring organization: New Mexico Department of Health
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Diabetic Retinopathy in Rural Communities: A Review of Barriers to Access of Care and Potential Solutions
Narrative review examining diabetic retinopathy (DR) prevalence and barriers to care in rural communities. Identifies factors contributing to poor access to care and suggests potential solutions, covering topics including telehealth use, workforce supply and distribution, healthcare policy, and more.
Author(s): James Burmeister, Madeline N. Pham, Forrest Bohler, Caleb North
Citation: Annals of Medicine, 57, 2522323
Date: 07/2025
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Machine Learning to Evaluate the Effects of Non-Clinical Social Determinant Features in Predicting Colorectal Cancer Mortality in a Medically Underserved Appalachian Population
Examines colorectal cancer (CRC) survival rates in rural Appalachia and the related impact of demographic, clinical, and social determinant of health (SDOH) factors. Utilizes machine learning (ML) models to analyze data from Appalachian cancer centers and examines what factors contribute most to CRC survival in Appalachia. Discusses the impact of including SDOH in ML prediction models and implications for further CRC research.
Author(s): Aisha Montgomery, Ravi Vadapalli, Frank A. Dinenno, et al.
Citation: Scientific Reports, 15, 25781
Date: 07/2025
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Supporting Resilient Food Systems: Navigating Challenges in U.S. Rural Communities
Examines the resiliency of rural food systems during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizes interview data from 38 community members representing services in education, food, healthcare, family services, and the Cooperative Extension System who have connections to the food system. Explores how rural communities navigated partnerships, supports, pandemic challenges, and organizational issues to promote food sustainability.
Author(s): Brianna Routh, Yoshie Sano, Leah Pylate, et al.
Citation: Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development
Date: 07/2025
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Cost-Effectiveness of the Rural Lifestyle Eating and Activity Program (Rural LEAP)
Analyzes the cost-effectiveness of telephone-based coaching sessions after participation in a weight loss intervention, utilizing data from a trial conducted from 2013-2018 in rural Florida counties. Discusses the importance of delivering cost-effective treatment for obesity in rural areas.
Author(s): Tiffany A. Radcliff, Murray J. Côté, Meena N. Shankar, et al.
Citation: PLoS One, 20(7), e0326383
Date: 07/2025
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Implementing a Tribally Engaged Lung Cancer Screening Pilot Program in Rural Oklahoma
Presents a study on the efficacy of a lung cancer screening program within a tribally operated health system in the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Bases findings on pre- and post-intervention surveys. Makes recommendation for program expansion and highlights key barriers and facilitators to implementation.
Author(s): Zsolt Nagykaldi, Mark Doescher, Dorothy A. Rhoades, et al.
Citation: Cancer Prevention Research, 18(7), 423-430
Date: 07/2025
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