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Rural Health Information Hub

Rural Health
Resources by Topic: Health disparities

High-Performing Rural Health System
Update to the September 2011 RUPRI Health Panel document "The High Performance Rural Health Care System of the Future." Describes affordable and accessible healthcare for all rural residents through a sustainable system delivering high quality, high value services. Defines pillars of accessibility, affordability, community health, and quality.
Author(s): Andrew Coburn, Alva O. Ferdinand, Alana Knudson, et al.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organization: Rural Policy Research Institute Rural Health Panel
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Children in the Fields: The Struggles You Should Know
Report examining the challenges affecting migrant farmworker children based on interviews with 37 children from the West, East, and Mid-Central regions. Addresses health struggles including bodily pain and injury, heat stress, COVID-19, pesticide exposure, and mental health. Also covers education and financial struggles and human trafficking vulnerabilities.
Date: 01/2022
Sponsoring organizations: Association of Farmworker Opportunity Programs, Children in the Fields Campaign
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2022 Mississippi State Health Improvement Plan
Describes a plan for health improvement in Mississippi for the period 2022-2026, and includes an overview of current public health challenges. Presents objectives associated with reducing health disparities and addressing social determinants of health, including obesity reduction and improved access to preventative care. Identifies affected groups, including people in rural areas.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organizations: Mississippi State Department of Health, Mississippi State Health Assessment and Improvement Committee (SHAIC)
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Mississippi Rural Health Plan 2022
Provides an overview of health status and healthcare systems in rural Mississippi, identifies priorities, and describes plans for rural health improvement. Defines rural areas and facilities, and presents an overview of State Office of Rural Health funding and programs. Includes statistics on demographics, health workforce, Critical Access Hospital performance, and population health indicators.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organizations: Mississippi Public Health Institute (MSPHI), Mississippi State Department of Health, The Mississippi Center for Rural Health and Population Studies
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Comparing Two Telehealth Approaches for Treating Complex Psychiatric Disorders in Primary Care -- The SPIRIT Study
Details a study on the use of telepsychiatry and telepsychology to treat complex psychiatric disorders in rural primary care settings. Discusses a trials done in 24 primary care clinics without behavioral health services. Compares models of care and draws conclusions from survey data.
Additional links: En Español, Research Summary
Author(s): John C. Fortney, Jürgen Unützer
Date: 2022
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Defining Rural Rhode Island
Detailed definition of rural areas in Rhode Island, developed by the Rhode Island Office of Primary Care and Rural Health for the purposes of identifying areas that are potentially at risk for health disparities and limits on access to healthcare. Includes a list of Rhode Island cities and towns, with their population and population density as of 2020.
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Rhode Island Department of Health
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Does Primary Care Availability Mediate the Relationship Between Rurality and Lower Life Expectancy in the United States?
Analyzes if the availability of primary care providers (PCPs) is a factor in life expectancy outcomes in rural areas. Utilizes county-level statistics for the years 2010, 2015, and 2017 to see if rural counties with higher PCP density trended toward higher life expectancy. Includes descriptive statistics that show rural versus urban comparisons for life expectancy, race/ethnicity, education level, income, insurance and employment status, rate of elderly residents, and access to/cost of medical care.
Author(s): Arjun Sharma, Sanjay Basu
Citation: Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13
Date: 2022
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Accelerating the Use of Findings from Patient-Centered Outcomes Research in Clinical Practice to Improve Health and Health Care
Offers an overview of presentations and discussion from a workshop series on patient-centered outcomes research. Topics include research methods and implementation, collaboration to support health equity, research sustainability, disseminating findings, and informing evidence-based policy making.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Suicide Prevention in Indigenous Communities: Proceedings of a Workshop
Report details the proceedings of a workshop addressing suicide prevention for American Indians and Alaska Natives living in tribal communities. Highlights suicide rates and prevention strategies in indigenous communities. Makes recommendations for improvement of data quality, cultural competency, and research, among other factors.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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Promoting Health Equity in Cancer Care: Proceedings of a Workshop
Presents proceedings from a 2021 workshop on issues related to disparities in cancer incidence, care, and patient outcomes. Discusses structural racism, social determinants of health, and health disparities for specific populations such as minorities and those living in rural areas. Provides strategies for understanding cultural factors related to establishing quality cancer care for all patients.
Additional links: Read Online
Author(s): Board on Health Care Services
Date: 2022
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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